State and local government employment, by industry, 2017
| Industry | Number of state and local government workers | Share of all state and local government workers |
|---|---|---|
| All | 17,297,910 | 100.0% |
| Education | 8,819,086 | 51.0% |
| Elementary and secondary schools | 6,894,850 | 39.9% |
| Colleges and universities, including junior colleges | 1,859,709 | 10.8% |
| Other education | 64,526 | 0.4% |
| Justice, public order, and safety activities | 2,616,618 | 15.1% |
| Executive offices and legislative bodies | 957,732 | 5.5% |
| Administration of human resource programs | 720,408 | 4.2% |
| Hospitals | 502,210 | 2.9% |
| Construction | 351,500 | 2.0% |
| Individual and family services | 351,354 | 2.0% |
| Administration of economic programs and space research | 299,207 | 1.7% |
| Public finance activities | 198,471 | 1.1% |
| Museums, art galleries, historical sites, and similar institutions | 191,202 | 1.1% |
| Administration of environmental quality and housing programs | 173,733 | 1.0% |
| Bus service and urban transit | 158,424 | 0.9% |
| Libraries and archives | 151,483 | 0.9% |
| Water, steam, air-conditioning, and irrigation systems | 141,745 | 0.8% |
| Other amusement, gambling, and recreation industries | 126,506 | 0.7% |
| Outpatient care centers | 105,070 | 0.6% |
| Other general government and support | 96,705 | 0.6% |
| Waste management and remediation services | 82,339 | 0.5% |
| Home health care services | 82,308 | 0.5% |
| Other health care services | 81,073 | 0.5% |
| Child day care services | 76,884 | 0.4% |
| Landscaping services | 69,203 | 0.4% |
| Sewage treatment facilities | 67,375 | 0.4% |
| Nursing care facilities | 66,782 | 0.4% |
| Services incidental to transportation | 65,020 | 0.4% |
| Residential care facilities, without nursing | 52,500 | 0.3% |
| Electric power generation, transmission and distribution | 50,612 | 0.3% |
| All other industries | 642,358 | 3.7% |
Note: Shares are calculated using five years of pooled microdata, 2013–2017. Shares for each industry are applied to total state and local employment, which is calculating using 2017 microdata.
Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata