Report

Good Jobs for Government Workers Improve Public Services

By maintaining fair working conditions for government workers, state and local policymakers can increase productivity, improve public outcomes, support stable revenues, and attract the next generation of public servants.

In the face of significant reductions in federal spending and slowing economic growth, many state and local governments may look to cut their own spending in the coming months. Too often, state and local cutbacks mean reducing standards for government workers, who already earn wages significantly below those of their private sector counterparts. This issue brief highlights research demonstrating that supporting strong standards provides direct benefits to the public.

State and local governments have long adopted wage and benefits standards, job training programs, paid leave requirements, and union protections for direct government workers as well as workers whose jobs are funded by government spending. Studies consistently find that these standards help raise wages, reduce racial wealth gaps, and shrink the wage gap between public and private sector workers. At the same time, job quality standards can create a more effective and efficient government, benefiting the public by boosting worker productivity and improving public outcomes, retaining highly qualified workers, increasing government revenues, and attracting the next generation of public servants.

The above excerpt was originally published in Center for American Progress. Click here to read the full report.

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Authors

Karla Walter

Senior Fellow, Inclusive Economy

Sachin Shiva

Former Research Associate, Inclusive Economy

Team

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Inclusive Economy

We are focused on building an inclusive economy by expanding worker power, investing in families, and advancing a social compact that encourages sustainable and equitable growth.