You’ve heard it before – politicians and others railing against big government. But data indicate that the era of big government has actually been fading. For instance, as reported by Bloomberg, there are nearly fifteen million more workers on nonfarm payrolls now than there were at the end of two thousand and nine.
However, there are three hundred thousand fewer government workers. This figure accounts for the local, state and federal government work forces. As a consequence, government’s share of nonfarm employment has fallen to a bit less than fifteen point four percent.
The last time government’s share of nonfarm employment was that low was in nineteen fifty nine. Much of this is because of a shrinking federal government. The federal government’s share of overall employment is lower than it has been at any time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began counting in nineteen thirty nine.
That figure doesn’t include military personnel or employees of federal intelligence agencies, however. While government employment has declined, people working for government contractors has increased. The Department of Defense paid for a reported six hundred and seventy thousand full time equivalent positions among service contractors in twenty twelve.
