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Show State Government Employment In Utah Increases State government employment employ-ment In Utah has been rising about three times as fast as population growth during the I960 decade, according to a report prepared by Utah Foundation, Foun-dation, the private research agency. Between I960 and 1968, the ' number of personnel employed employ-ed by the State has increased by nearly 50. During this same period, total population growth in Utah has been only about WA. Foundation analysts point out that the introduction of new and expanded govern- ment services has been an im-portant im-portant factor in this rapid rlra in state employment. The growing role of the Federal Government also has contributed contri-buted to the increase. Many state programs now financed in whole or in part by Federal funds have required increased staffing to meet the' requirements require-ments of Federal Jaws, rules, and regulations. . Of the major state" "nonedu-cational "nonedu-cational agencies, the largest percentage gains during recent re-cent years have been registered register-ed by public instruction, public pub-lic welfare, public safety, the training school, and highways. The Foundation report notes that these five agencies have accounted for 60 of the total growth in noncollege employment employ-ment between 1955 and 1968. In relation to population; Utah has a higher proportion of state employees than 'the Mountain States or the United States as a whole. Much of Utah's high ranking in the proportion of state employees, according to the Foundation, can be attributed to the extremely ex-tremely large educational load in the state. When both state and local personnel are considered and only nonedu-cational nonedu-cational employees' are in eluded, Utah is 12' to 17 below regional and national averages in the proportion -of government workers to total population. The study notes that the average salary paid to non-school non-school state employees in U-tah U-tah is approximately equal to the average of the eight Mountain States and the U-nited U-nited States as a whole. Comparable Com-parable salaries in the three Pacific CCoast Statees (California, (Cal-ifornia, Oregon, and Washington), Wash-ington), however, are 31 above the national average. The average salary . in Utah therefore, is approximately 20 below the average of the eleven Western States. Because of the absence of a profit incentive, governmental governmen-tal units often fail to give proper attention to their staffing staff-ing needs and the effecive uilization of their personnel. Foundation analysts observe that the controversy over organization or-ganization patterns waged by the Little Hoover Commission has obscured recommendations recommenda-tions of the Commission pertaining per-taining to personnel management. manage-ment. Specifically, the Little Hoover Commission recommended recom-mended that the staffing levels lev-els of state agencies be critically crit-ically evaluated to determine the number of personnel needed need-ed to staff each agency and suggested ways of identifying positions which are surplus. |