By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – The number of state and local government workers in Alabama has gone up 12 of the past 13 years. The Associated Press reviewed federal labor statistics that show the state currently has more than 308 thousand such employees. It happened despite slow tax growth, the stagnant economy and budget shortages. Most of the increases occurred in city and county governments. Those employment rolls have grown nine straight years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows city and county governments have added 94-hundred non-education employees since 2000. That's nearly a nine-and-a-half percent increase. Perry Roquemore, executive director of the Alabama League of Municipalities, says he could only speculate as to why the growth is occurring. He says one reason could be that despite the state's financial troubles, local governments have not necessarily been hit as hard. Last year, local governments accounted for two-thirds of the government jobs in the state.