Government employment actually FELL during this economic recovery. Is that why the recovery still doesn’t feel that strong?

Government Jobs Decline

The chart above is courtesy of here. It’s in turn via here, which notes that it’s fairly unprecedented, at least in modern times — government employment tends to rise during recoveries, but not so this time. The public sector has about 21.9 million jobs, which is the lowest point it’s been in years — and overall, they even employ slightly less people than they did in December 2007, pre-crash. Because these jobs account for 1 in 7 jobs, watching that sector is quite important; that’s explained more here. You’re also seeing more retirements in government jobs, beginning that millennial-Boomer narrative. And let’s be honest: it’s not a great market for getting a job (see more here). If anyone brings up the economy or the recession or the recovery in your next few social entanglements, be sure to reference this above chart.

Ted Bauer