Government employees are not necessarily the same as civil servants, as some jurisdictions specifically define which employees are civil servants; for example, it often excludes military employees.[1]
The federal government is the nation's single largest employer, although it employs only about 12% of all government employees, compared to 24% at the state level and 63% at the local level.[2]
State and local employees
Non-federal employees in states can vary based on unique circumstances: for example, as of 2014, Wyoming had the most per capita public employees due to its public hospitals, followed by Alaska which has a relatively high number of highways and natural resources.[3] The category of Elementary/Secondary Education has the highest employment per capita across states.[3]
In 2012, three states (Arizona, Colorado, and Tennessee) passed major changes to their civil service hiring systems as part of a civil service reform movement, making it easier to hire and fire state employees.[4]
Gender and leadership at the federal level
A 2011 study found 39% of head leaders, and 36% of leaders in the top two tiers of leadership in 118 U.S. agencies were women.[5] This study did not account for differences in field of expertise, or years of experience. This study found a significant relationship between the gender of the leader and policy area, with women 2.8 times more likely to hold a high leadership position in an agency with a "feminine" policy area, such as education, health or welfare. The same study found that organizations with a female in the top leadership role had more women in second-level leadership positions.
