The number of Louisiana state employees has fallen by more than 6,400 workers in the first two years of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration.
The latest report from the Legislative Auditor’s Office listed a total of 42,695 employees in the executive branch on June 30, 2011, down from 49,112 in June 2009.
Post-secondary education employees, including the state charity hospitals operated by Louisiana State University, fell by 4,334 in the same period. They are not included in the executive branch totals.
The decline in state workers includes 3,076 fewer employees in the Department of Health and Hospitals, 977 from the Department of Corrections, and 750 from the Department of Children and Family Services.
The cumulative annual payroll for Louisiana’s civil service employees has fallen to $3.92 billion from $4.15 billion in fiscal 2009.
The Republican Jindal’s budget for fiscal 2013 eliminates another 6,000 positions, half of which are not currently filled.
