State leaders from five states — Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire and New York — gathered in Denver in September to discuss and set goals to recruit and retain diverse and representative talent in the state government workforce.
The Council of State Governments partnered with Representative Democracy for the CSG State Exchange on Public Servant Recruitment and Retention.
In the U.S., state governments employed 3,825,097 full-time workers in 2022, around 1.5% of the total population. This makes state governments one of the largest employers in the country. However, in recent years state government employment growth has lagged behind the growth seen in the private sector. By the end of 2022, state and local government employment as still 2.3% below pre-pandemic levels, according to the Economic Policy Institute, driven largely by vacancies in public education and public health. Creating robust and diverse pipelines to state government career is one way to fill these job shortages in the coming years.
“I’m leaving here feeling like we’re not so alone,” said Rosina McNeil-Cusick, director of equity for the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration. “Knowing Colorado isn’t the only state trying to solve these hiring problems.”
Through legislation, executive orders and other actions and policies, states take a variety of approaches to recruiting and retaining public employees from different backgrounds, including the development of equal opportunity offices, the creation of apprenticeship and internship programs, providing opportunities for veterans and individuals with disabilities, and removing barriers to employment.
At the state exchange, state leaders swapped ideas about recruiting new talent, creating a culture that would inspire state workers to continue their employment, opportunities for competitive wages and benefits, leadership development and more.
“We’re finding that the person making the biggest difference in culture starts at the top,” said Lori Wolff with the Idaho Division of Human Resources. “We have to invest in our leaders.”
Ahead of the program, CSG developed a series of resources analyzing the state government workforce. Those resources are available here: