CWA-PHEW: Jobs Report Highlights Urgent Crisis Facing America’s Public Sector Workforce

WASHINGTON — Today, the Labor Department released its September jobs report, showing that America’s public sector workforce lost 123,000 jobs last month, on top of the hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs that have been lost since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The alarming jobs report comes just weeks after the Pew Charitable Trust issued a report detailing how the return of public sector jobs, especially in noneducation state and local jobs, is lagging behind even as the economy as a whole continues to recover. Public sector employment remains below pre-pandemic levels in most states.

In response to the September Jobs Report, Margaret Cook, Vice President of CWA-PHEW (Communications Workers of America Public, Healthcare and Education Workers) – which represents more than 140,000 public sector workers across the country – issued the following statement:

"Today's jobs report is another clear sign that America's public sector workforce is in crisis. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of thousands of public sector employees lost their jobs as state and local governments took drastic measures to balance their budgets and deal with the public health crisis. While the national economy has shown signs of rebounding, particularly as private sector employment grows, the public sector remains stagnant. Despite funding allocated from the American Rescue Plan, another 123,000 public sector jobs were lost across the country this month, significantly undermining the public sector's ability to deliver essential services.

"Behind each one of those jobs lost is a dedicated public servant who committed their career to work for the common good, despite often low pay and meager benefits. Many of these essential workers put their health and wellbeing on the line during the pandemic to continue serving their communities.

"The public sector workforce that remains is doing all it can to effectively serve the public. Without adequate staffing, however, workers are facing substantially increased workloads – all while struggling to make ends meet. It is a deeply troubling situation that must be rectified.

"America's public sector has been the backbone of our country for generations. But that backbone runs the risk of withering away if we do not make the public sector an urgent priority. Difficult times are not new for America's public sector, especially after the Great Recession, but we cannot afford to turn a blind eye as the public sector struggles to recover. Elected officials in all states need to take the money distributed to them in the American Rescue Plan and use some of it to make impactful investments that benefit the public sector workforce."

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