Public sector employment as a share of total employment in United States
United States: Public sector employment as a share of total employment was 12.88 in 2018. ▼ Falling
Latest (2018)
12.88
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
55th
of 79 countries
All-time high
14.68
in 2010
All-time low
12.88
in 2018
Years of data
9
2010–2018
Public sector employment as a share of total employment in United States, 2010–2018
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 12.88 for public sector employment as a share of total employment in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public sector employment as a share of total employment in United States peaked at 14.68 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 12.88, in 2018.
United States ranks 55th of 79 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Public sector employment as a share of total employment in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 14.68 | — |
| 2011 | 14.15 | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 13.58 | -4.0% |
| 2013 | 13.35 | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 13.39 | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 13.26 | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 12.94 | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 13.21 | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 12.88 | -2.5% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 12.88 is below the median for high income countries, which is 23.54, 55% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Countries ranked near United States
More work & labour data for United States
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 113,208 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 61.24 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 178,849 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.4 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.05 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 159,991 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 141,322 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 58.55 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.27 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.3372 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public sector employment as a share of total employment in United States?
- Public sector employment as a share of total employment in United States was 12.88 in 2018, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest public sector employment as a share of total employment recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 14.68 in 2010.
- What is the lowest public sector employment as a share of total employment recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.88 in 2018.
- How does United States rank for public sector employment as a share of total employment?
- United States ranks 55th out of 79 countries with data for 2018.
- Is public sector employment as a share of total employment rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Public sector employment as a share of total employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).