Current Employment Statistics (CES9093000001) · Local government, seasonally adjusted
How many jobs are there in local government?
The number of jobs in local government was 15,173 thousand in the month ended , up 0.3% from a year earlier (preliminary).
Jobs in local government, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Jobs in local government, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Each point is one month of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.
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Inspect and compare dates
The newest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The last ten years are in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".
| Measure | Latest | The month before | A year earlier | Five years earlier | Ten years earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | |||||
| Jobs in local government, in thousands | 15,173 thousand | 15,186 thousand | 15,132 thousand | 14,078 thousand | 14,367 thousand |
| Change over a year | +0.3% | +0.4% | +1.2% | +2.6% | +1.2% |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
Observed .
Right now
The number of jobs in local government was 15,173 thousand in September 2026, the lowest since July 2026.
Over a year it is up 0.3% (ours). The source marks this value preliminary.
ChangeOurs
| Period | Then | Change |
|---|---|---|
| One month | 15,186 thousand in | −0.1% |
| Three months | 15,191 thousand in | −0.1% |
| Twelve months | 15,132 thousand in | +0.3% |
| Five years | 14,078 thousand in | +7.8% |
| Ten years | 14,367 thousand in | +5.6% |
In historyOurs
The number of jobs in local government of 15,173 thousand in was higher than in 855 of the 860 other months since , the same in 0 and lower in 5.
Highest since : 15,191 thousand in . Lowest since : 3,491 thousand in .
AverageOurs
Average since : 10,562.0 thousand (ours, a plain mean of the 861 months).
ComparedOurs
Over a year the number of jobs in local government is up 0.3%, which ranks 16 of the 35 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.
The table sets the number of jobs in local government beside the industries on the jobs by industry page, by the change over a year in each one's newest month.
Understanding the number of jobs in local government
Where it stands today
The number of jobs in local government was 15,173 thousand in September 2026.
What does the number of jobs in local government measure?
Local government covers the employees of counties, cities, towns, school districts and other local bodies, including public schools and local hospitals.
Read more
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counts these jobs each month in a survey of employers, the Current Employment Statistics, and publishes them in the Employment Situation report at the start of the next month. The count is all employees on payrolls, in thousands, seasonally adjusted.
What 500metrics adds: the change over one month, three months, a year and five years, the highest and lowest value since the series begins, how the change over a year ranks among the lines of the jobs by industry page, the industry inside it with its own change over a year.
The numbers behind the chart
What was the number of jobs in local government in each month?The last ten years, 120 months, newest first; the chart and the file have every month since Jan 1955
| Month | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|
| 15,173 thousand | +0.3% | |
| 15,186 thousand | +0.4% | |
| 15,132 thousand | −0.1% | |
| 15,191 thousand | +0.4% | |
| 15,181 thousand | +0.6% | |
| 15,181 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 15,182 thousand | +0.9% | |
| 15,159 thousand | +0.8% | |
| 15,165 thousand | +1.0% | |
| 15,151 thousand | +1.0% | |
| 15,145 thousand | +1.0% | |
| 15,149 thousand | +1.1% | |
| 15,132 thousand | +1.2% | |
| 15,132 thousand | +1.2% | |
| 15,146 thousand | +1.3% | |
| 15,126 thousand | +1.4% | |
| 15,094 thousand | +1.2% | |
| 15,070 thousand | +1.2% | |
| 15,048 thousand | +1.0% | |
| 15,037 thousand | +1.4% | |
| 15,022 thousand | +1.6% | |
| 15,005 thousand | +1.7% | |
| 14,993 thousand | +1.9% | |
| 14,981 thousand | +2.1% |
Show 96 more rows
| Month | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|
| 14,958 thousand | +2.0% | |
| 14,957 thousand | +2.2% | |
| 14,950 thousand | +2.3% | |
| 14,911 thousand | +2.3% | |
| 14,909 thousand | +2.6% | |
| 14,884 thousand | +2.7% | |
| 14,894 thousand | +3.0% | |
| 14,826 thousand | +2.7% | |
| 14,781 thousand | +2.6% | |
| 14,755 thousand | +2.8% | |
| 14,713 thousand | +2.6% | |
| 14,676 thousand | +2.8% | |
| 14,660 thousand | +2.6% | |
| 14,641 thousand | +2.4% | |
| 14,609 thousand | +2.1% | |
| 14,572 thousand | +2.7% | |
| 14,529 thousand | +2.6% | |
| 14,486 thousand | +2.5% | |
| 14,455 thousand | +2.4% | |
| 14,433 thousand | +2.4% | |
| 14,405 thousand | +2.3% | |
| 14,358 thousand | +2.1% | |
| 14,339 thousand | +2.2% | |
| 14,283 thousand | +1.9% | |
| 14,283 thousand | +1.5% | |
| 14,301 thousand | +1.5% | |
| 14,307 thousand | +2.4% | |
| 14,182 thousand | +1.7% | |
| 14,163 thousand | +2.1% | |
| 14,135 thousand | +2.3% | |
| 14,114 thousand | +2.5% | |
| 14,089 thousand | +2.7% | |
| 14,081 thousand | +2.7% | |
| 14,059 thousand | +2.6% | |
| 14,033 thousand | +2.3% | |
| 14,017 thousand | +1.9% | |
| 14,078 thousand | +2.6% | |
| 14,095 thousand | +2.7% | |
| 13,967 thousand | +3.3% | |
| 13,947 thousand | +3.6% | |
| 13,865 thousand | +3.0% | |
| 13,819 thousand | −0.7% | |
| 13,773 thousand | −6.2% | |
| 13,718 thousand | −6.6% | |
| 13,715 thousand | −6.5% | |
| 13,698 thousand | −6.4% | |
| 13,717 thousand | −6.2% | |
| 13,750 thousand | −5.8% | |
| 13,715 thousand | −5.9% | |
| 13,724 thousand | −5.7% | |
| 13,526 thousand | −7.1% | |
| 13,460 thousand | −7.8% | |
| 13,458 thousand | −7.7% | |
| 13,921 thousand | −4.7% | |
| 14,688 thousand | +0.8% | |
| 14,692 thousand | +1.1% | |
| 14,664 thousand | +0.9% | |
| 14,638 thousand | +0.8% | |
| 14,619 thousand | +0.8% | |
| 14,594 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,582 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,558 thousand | +0.4% | |
| 14,552 thousand | +0.6% | |
| 14,601 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,583 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,600 thousand | +0.9% | |
| 14,567 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,533 thousand | +0.4% | |
| 14,527 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,527 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,499 thousand | +0.5% | |
| 14,491 thousand | +0.6% | |
| 14,486 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,493 thousand | +1.1% | |
| 14,462 thousand | +0.5% | |
| 14,505 thousand | +0.9% | |
| 14,482 thousand | +0.9% | |
| 14,467 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,471 thousand | +0.8% | |
| 14,473 thousand | +0.8% | |
| 14,428 thousand | +0.6% | |
| 14,431 thousand | +0.6% | |
| 14,427 thousand | +0.6% | |
| 14,407 thousand | +0.3% | |
| 14,390 thousand | +0.2% | |
| 14,339 thousand | −0.2% | |
| 14,390 thousand | +0.1% | |
| 14,381 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,358 thousand | +0.3% | |
| 14,368 thousand | +0.5% | |
| 14,356 thousand | +0.4% | |
| 14,354 thousand | +0.6% | |
| 14,347 thousand | +0.7% | |
| 14,350 thousand | +0.8% | |
| 14,344 thousand | +0.8% | |
| 14,359 thousand | +1.0% |
How does it compare with the industries on the jobs by industry page?Ranked by the change over a year
| Series | Month | Value | Change over a year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 23,959 thousand | +2.2% | 1 | |
| Private education and health | 28,005 thousand | +1.9% | 2 | |
| Utilities | 612 thousand | +1.7% | 3 | |
| Construction | 8,364 thousand | +1.3% | 4 | |
| Durable goods | 7,898 thousand | +1.1% | 5 | |
| Professional, scientific, technical | 10,844 thousand | +0.8% | 6 | |
| Accommodation and food services | 14,310 thousand | +0.7% | 7 | |
| Goods-producing | 21,623 thousand | +0.7% | 7 | |
| Other services | 6,039 thousand | +0.6% | 9 | |
| Professional and business services | 22,482 thousand | +0.6% | 9 | |
| Administrative, support, waste | 9,019 thousand | +0.5% | 11 | |
| Private service-providing | 114,094 thousand | +0.5% | 11 | |
| Total private | 135,717 thousand | +0.5% | 11 | |
| Leisure and hospitality | 16,969 thousand | +0.4% | 14 | |
| Wholesale trade | 6,078 thousand | +0.4% | 14 | |
| Local government (this page) | 15,173 thousand | +0.3% | 16 | |
| Manufacturing | 12,652 thousand | +0.3% | 16 | |
| Mining and logging | 607 thousand | +0.3% | 16 | |
| Service-providing | 137,421 thousand | +0.3% | 16 | |
| Total nonfarm | 159,044 thousand | +0.3% | 16 | |
| Retail trade | 15,480 thousand | +0.2% | 21 | |
| Trade, transportation, utilities | 28,778 thousand | +0.2% | 21 | |
| Mining, oil and gas extraction | 567 thousand | +0.1% | 23 | |
| Private education | 4,046 thousand | −0.1% | 24 | |
| Transportation and warehousing | 6,609 thousand | −0.1% | 24 | |
| Management of companies | 2,620 thousand | −0.3% | 26 | |
| State government | 5,472 thousand | −0.5% | 27 | |
| Real estate, rental, leasing | 2,438 thousand | −0.6% | 28 | |
| Government | 23,327 thousand | −0.9% | 29 | |
| Nondurable goods | 4,754 thousand | −0.9% | 29 | |
| Financial activities | 9,082 thousand | −1.2% | 31 | |
| Finance and insurance | 6,645 thousand | −1.4% | 32 | |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 2,659 thousand | −1.6% | 33 | |
| Information | 2,739 thousand | −4.2% | 34 | |
| Federal government | 2,682 thousand | −8.0% | 35 |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
Which industries are inside local government?Newest month of each industry
| Industry | Month | Count | Share | Change over a year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local government, excluding education | 6,968 thousand | 45.9% | +1.0% | 1 |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite
What this number cannot tell you
- BLS counts jobs, not people: a person with two jobs on two payrolls is counted twice. Farm jobs, the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers and members of the military are not counted.
- The count comes from a survey of employers, so each month's value carries sampling error. BLS revises each month twice in the two months after it is first published, and each February it benchmarks the series to a full count of jobs from unemployment insurance tax records and revises earlier values, so past values on this page can change.
- BLS publishes this series from 1955.
- JOLTS has no line for exactly this group of industries, so no job openings, hires, quits or layoffs are shown beside the count of jobs.
- The counts of the industries inside it are shown in whole thousands, but BLS publishes those series to one decimal, so the changes, the ranks and the shares, which are ours and worked out from the values as BLS publishes them, can differ in their last place from those worked out from the values as shown.
- The changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest values are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes; a change is in percent.
Observed . Checked .
How to cite this
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, Local government, seasonally adjusted, through September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "How many jobs are there in local government?", https://500metrics.com/jobs-by-industry/local-government.
Can the data be downloaded?jobs-by-industry-local-government.csv
Download the full history as CSV: 861 rows, to , 15,211 bytes.
Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.
Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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