State and Local Government

Workforce 2020

Wednesday, May 14, 2020

Cara Woodson Welch, Executive Director, International Public Management Association for Human Resources

Leslie Scott, Executive Director, National Association of State Personnel Executives

Gerald Young, Senior Research Associate, Center for State and Local Government Excellence

Webinar Presenters

2

John Saeli, Managing Vice President, Strategy Development and Implementation, ICMA-RC

Center for State and Local Government Excellence

Promote excellence in local and state governments so they can attract and

retain talented public servants.

2020 Survey Results

• Employment/compensation cuts have slowed

• Recruiting is becoming more difficult• Flexible employment practices prevalent• Benefit changes focused on employee

contributions

SLGE / IPMA-HR / NASPE Workforce Survey Series

• Initial survey in 2009 on state/local workforce and the recession

• Larger trends in recruitment, retention, benefits, and other key workforce issues

https://slge.org/resources/state-and-local-workforce-survey-2019

2020 Respondents

(Only local and state respondents are included in the graphs that follow)

2020 Respondents – By FTEs

Recent Employment

Actions

Prior Trends

See: https://www.slge.org/resources/state-and-local-government-workforce-2018-data-and-10-year-trends

Employment Actions Over the Past Year

Employment Actions Over the Past Year

Changes in Workforce vs. Prior

Year

Actions by Retirement-

Eligible Staff in

Prior Year

Actions by Retirement-

Eligible Staff in

Prior Year

44% had staff postponing retirement in 2009

Hard to Fill

Positions

Hard to Fill

Positions 9% 0%

29%

61%

Qualified applicants vs. Available Positions: Engineers

More than twice as manyqualified applicants asavailable positions

50-100% more qualifiedapplicants as availablepositions (0 responses in thiscategory)

0-50% more qualifiedapplicants as availablepositions

Fewer qualified applicantsthan available positions

Hard to Fill

Positions 3%0%

20%

77%

Qualified applicants vs. Available Positions: Registered Nurses

More than twice as manyqualified applicants asavailable positions

50-100% more qualifiedapplicants as availablepositions (0 responses in thiscategory)

0-50% more qualifiedapplicants as availablepositions

Fewer qualified applicantsthan available positions

Gig Economy: Share of Workload

Gig Economy Positions

Organizational Impacts of the Gig Economy

(FY2019)

See: https://www.slge.org/assets/uploads/2019/07/slge-workforce2019.pdf

Skills Sought

* Categories with an asterisk were new to the survey this year.

Most Successful Recruitment

Practices

* Items new to the survey in 2020.

Most Successful Recruitment

Practices

* Items new to the survey in 2020.

Most Successful Recruitment

Practices

* Items new to the survey in 2020.

Do you feel the compensation you offer is competitive with the labor market?

Wages: Benefits:

Flexible Employment

Practices

Flexible Employment Practices vs. Prior Year

Flexible Employment

Practices Exclusions

Flexible Employment Practices by FTE count

Flexible Employment Practices by FTE count

64% state19% local

Flexible Employment Practices by FTE count

64% state19% local

No Changes Made to

Retirement Benefits

69%75%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

New hires Current employees

Prior Changes Made to

Retirement Benefits

See Have Localities Shifted Away from Traditional Defined Benefit Plans? and Proactive Pension Management

Changes Made This

Year to Retirement

Benefits

69%75%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

New hires Current employees

0.0%

0.5%

0.5%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

2.6%

2.6%

2.6%

3.1%

3.6%

4.6%

6.2%

6.7%

7.7%

7.7%

8.3%

8.3%

8.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Replaced a DB with a DC plan

New: Replaced a DB with a hybrid plan

Decreased employer contrib. to DC plans

New: Required employees to choose: DB or DC

New: Replaced a DB with a DC plan

New: Reduced/eliminated COLAs

Required employees to choose: DB or DC

Replaced a DB with a hybrid plan

Reduced/eliminated COLAs

Auto-enrolled in suppl. DC plans

Increased pension eligibility requirements

New: Auto-enrolled in suppl. DC plans

New: Increased pension eligibility requirements

Decreased pension benefits

New: Decreased employer contrib. to DC plans

Other retirement changes

New: Other retirement changes

Don't know

New: Decreased pension benefits

New: Don't know

New: Increased employer contrib. to DB

Increased employer contrib. to DB

Increased employee contrib. to DB

New: Increased employee contrib. to DB

Changes Made This

Year to Retirement

Benefits

69%75%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

New hires Current employees

0.0%

0.5%

0.5%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

1.0%

2.6%

2.6%

2.6%

3.1%

3.6%

4.6%

6.2%

6.7%

7.7%

7.7%

8.3%

8.3%

8.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Replaced a DB with a DC plan

New: Replaced a DB with a hybrid plan

Decreased employer contrib. to DC plans

New: Required employees to choose: DB or DC

New: Replaced a DB with a DC plan

New: Reduced/eliminated COLAs

Required employees to choose: DB or DC

Replaced a DB with a hybrid plan

Reduced/eliminated COLAs

Auto-enrolled in suppl. DC plans

Increased pension eligibility requirements

New: Auto-enrolled in suppl. DC plans

New: Increased pension eligibility requirements

Decreased pension benefits

New: Decreased employer contrib. to DC plans

Other retirement changes

New: Other retirement changes

Don't know

New: Decreased pension benefits

New: Don't know

New: Increased employer contrib. to DB

Increased employer contrib. to DB

Increased employee contrib. to DB

New: Increased employee contrib. to DB

Impact of Cuts?

2.9 %

Private sector wage of new hires (prior to being hired by state/local government)

https://www.slge.org/resources/how-have-pension-cuts-affected-public-sector-competitiveness

Health Benefit

Changes

44% state18% local

28% state5% local

See also Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEBs) by State and Medicare Marketplaces for Public Sector Retiree Health Care

Are your employees financially prepared for retirement?

Employee Retention and Development

Exit Interview

Comments

53% state27% local

Looking Ahead…

Recent SLGE Workforce Research

• Public Health, HHS, and K-12 Workforce• Workforce 2030• Financial Wellness• Staff Sharing

Continuing Focus on Workforce Challenges

Upcoming SLGE/ICMA-RC polling project: Impact of COVID-19 on State and Local Employees

Visit SLGE.ORG

Twitter: @4GovtExcellence #PublicWorkforce

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