Education Dominates Growth in Government Jobs

2 Education Dominates Growth in Government Jobs The number of state and local government jobs in Iowa has increased 11 percent over the past 14 years, with the most significant increase in the education field, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.

Last year, Iowa had 182,300 full-time state and local government employees, adding more than 18,000 full-time public employees since 1993.

That means that for every 10,000 Iowans, there are 610 state and local government workers.

The report said Iowa ranked 12th-highest nationally and among the top in the Upper Midwest on a per capita basis for state and local government workers.
Education jobs accounted for more than three-quarters of the public sector growth since 1993. About 10,000 jobs have been added in elementary and secondary education, and another 5,000 in higher education.

State leaders say the growth comes from efforts to reduce class sizes and increase community college enrollment.

Iowa has 362 school districts and more than 74,000 people are employed by Iowa’s elementary and secondary schools. More than 32,000 are employed at universities and in other higher education programs.

Margaret Buckton, associate executive director of public policy for the Iowa Association of School Boards, said the growth of Iowa public employees in elementary and secondary education reflects a combination of factors. Those include efforts to reduce class sizes, improve reading programs, help special education students, strengthen high school achievement and assist preschool programs, she said.

“We see the benefits of small class sizes that have been experienced in the rural districts,” Buckton said. She continued, “The urban folks and the suburban folks have put a lot of pressure on their local districts to lower class sizes to the extent possible, and education is a labor-intensive business.”

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