General Government Management.

• Author: Michel, R. Gregory

"The Employee Exodus"

Walters, Jonathan

Governing, March 2000, pp. 36-38.

This article highlights an alarming demographic trend that will have a significant impact on state and local government employment. A large percentage of the state and local government workforce is nearing retirement age, and little has been done to plan for the replacement of these workers. A Rockefeller Institute of Government study found that in 1999, 42 percent of the 15.7 million state and local government employees were between 45 and 64 years old. The State of Iowa personnel department found that employees over 45 years of age who hold the highest paying positions make up one of the largest employee cohorts in its government. In addition, the combination of three demographic trends will make it difficult for state and local governments to fill positions with qualified employees in the near future: 1) the bulk of the workforce will be retiring, 2) the demand for government services will be greater due to a larger population, and 3) the pool of potential job applicants will be smaller. The number of work ers 25 to 44 years old is expected to fall by three million from 1998 to 2008. The article mentions five governments that are at the forefront of responding to this issue. The City of Kansas City, Missouri, researched which positions have employees...