A new report by the Louisiana Budget Project analyzes comparable state-to-state data to inform the recent debate concerning whether Louisiana has too many public employees.
The report finds that, contrary to statements made by a number of public officials, overall staffing levels in Louisiana are on par with those in other states. Once Louisiana’s unique Charity Hospital System is accounted for, the number of public employees delivering state services is comparable to other states based on population (“per capita”) and on size of the state’s economy, as measured by Louisiana’s gross state product (“per GSP”).
Other significant findings include that Louisiana has far fewer Corrections officials guarding our large number of state prisoners than all but three other states and that we have fewer college and public school teachers per capita than most other states.
Click to view the full report and press release.