Slashes in the labor force have taken place over all fields and industries these past five years. Manufacturing, retail, hospitality, technology, etc. You name the industry and chances are there were large cuts in their employment numbers since the beginning of the Great Recession. The only industry that may be slightly exempt from this fact is the healthcare industry that has been faring better than any other industry over the past five years. But who has seen the most cuts of all from 2007 to 2011? The United States Government.
However shocking the answer may be, it’s true. The U.S. government has cut more jobs than any other company or employer. Over the past five years, the government has cut 112,800 jobs, mainly in the defense sector and the United States Postal Service, as we are all aware. While this may be shocking and may spark a surge of anger in many Americans, it is important to note that the U.S. government is the nation’s largest employer and its cuts are proportionate to its size. Plus, as of January 2012, the government employed 2.8 million workers. Federal employment is close to the same employment numbers as 2007 showing little to no growth.
Perhaps the most taxing sector of the government right now is the USPS. Over the past five years, the postal service has slashed 148,000 jobs and currently has 618,000 people employed, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Why, you ask? The internet. Since the internet allows for easy access to letters, bills and other means of correspondence, the need for postal service has decreased significantly. Unfortunately for those working in the USPS, it has taken a large toll on its employment numbers and the amount of money the USPS is set to spend on its labor force.
To further the government’s job cuts, projections by the Labor Department show that the federal government will cut at least 372,000 jobs by the year 2020. For working federal employees holding onto their jobs, this is the last thing they want to hear. However, our government is clearly not alone in the job slashing. Following closely behind the government in most job cuts, General Motors has announced the slashing of 112,700 jobs and Citigroup is next with an announcement of 96,500 jobs cut.
SOURCE: Bottom Line
IMAGE: Courtesy of Wikipedia
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