California State University, Sacramento	Government Employment in Sacramento (4 County) Metropolitan Statistical Area	Sacramento Forecast Project
	Total | Federal | State | State % State | Local | back to Sacramento MSA	revised January, 2009

Employment in government entities has long been a mainstay of the employment picture in the Sacramento Metropolitan Statistical Area. The continuing effort to diversify the employment base has been somewhat effective. The effort, during the 1990's, was both voluntary, through the activities of organizations like the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO), and involuntary, from the closure of the three military bases in the Sacramento MSA. These efforts have led to the government employment sector's share of the total employment in the Sacramento MSA declining from around 30% to a low of around 24.5% in August of 2006. The share is currently rising similar to the pattern during the last economic "opportunity" when the private sector jobs declined while government kept its payrolls relatively stable.

The number of government sector jobs peaked in 2002, with an annual average of 226,800 jobs in the three government sectors. It was a down hill slide bottoming in 2004 with 221,600 jobs. The trend reversed in 2005 with 2,500 government jobs being added, followed by another 4,300 government jobs in 2006 and 6,900 new jobs in 2007. There was a slight decline (down 0.13%) in goverment jobs in 2008 in the Sacrameno MSA, ending with the most recent annual average being 234,800 government jobs. The forecast for the annual average in 2009, based on actual results through December, 2008, an increase of 0.45%, up 1,100 jobs from 2008.

The federal sector of government employment in the Sacramento (4 County) MSA was the major force in reducing the area's dependence on government jobs. From a high of 30,000 federal jobs in 1990 to the current low of around 12,000 jobs, approximately 18,000 jobs were lost. The major factor was the closure of the three military bases. The decline ended in 2001 with the annual average staying between 12,900 and 12,000 ever since. The forecast for 2009, based on actual data through December, 2008, is for the annual average to stay at the current 12,000 mark.

The state sector of government employment in the Sacramento (4 County) MSA steadily increased during the 1990's and peaked in 2002 with 108,200 State Government jobs before declining for two years to a low of 102,300 jobs in 2004. Times have changed and the number of State Government jobs peaked in 2007 at 110,000 jobs, surpassing the 2002 high. The number of jobs in 2008 delined 0.8%. The forecast for 2009, based on actual data through December, 2008 and taking the current budget crisis into consideration, is for an unchanged number of jobs.

After fluctuating around the 23.0% level for the last half of the 1990's and through 2002, the Sacramento MSA's share of California's state government jobs has dropped consistently from the July, 2002 high of 23.3% to the 2005 level of 21.9% and stayed at the 22% level through 2006 before beginning a steady climb back up to the 23% level. What is this telling us? - The decline in state government jobs in the last downturn hit the Sacramento MSA market harder than the state as a whole - the job reduction was focused more at the central government level, not the legislative districts. That changed in 2006 and the trend was for the job creation to be more centralized. 2008, however, saw another reversal with the trend dropping half-a-percent in the year ... the jobs were going back to the districts last year.

The local government sector of government employment for the Sacramento MSA continues to be a source of very consistent growth. The forecast for 2009, based on actual results through December, 2008, is for a 1,100 jobs increase.

Back to Sacramento MSA Update: January, 2009 Arthur N. Jensen, Emeritus Professor of Marketing e-mail to: a.jensen@comcast.net California State University, Sacramento Disclaimer: Professor Arthur N. Jensen takes full responsibility for the information posted. The information on this page represents that of Professor Arthur N. Jensen and not that of California State University, Sacramento. [as required in PM BA 96-13 Policy on CSUSInfo World Wide Web]