Iron County Record | 1970-07-09 | Page 3 | Public Employment Outstrips Growth

Public employment outstrips growth Utah's population grew 209 from 1959 to 1969. In the same period according to the latest release of Utah Taxpayers Association, As-sociation, public employment jumped from 60,310 to 99, 553, or 65. Total Utah employment went up 26 from 316,400 in 1959 to 398,550 in 1969. Public employment in the state with 99,553 persons employed, accounted ac-counted for 25 of all workers. work-ers. This is one out of four. In a 1959, it was one out of five. ; occupations. In 1959, state and local government gov-ernment monthly payrolls were $10.5 million. In 1969, they had skyrocketed to $27 million. This amounts to a whopping 157 increase. In 1969, according to the Census Bureau reports, only thirteen states exceeded Utah in the proportion of total income in-come taken for state and local taxes, and since 1959, major state and local ' taxes have jumped from $146 to $302 million. In their latest Bulletin, Bulle-tin, the taxpayers group claims much of this increase is due to skyrocketing public payrolls. They say, "Govern ment spending at all levels is getting out of control. If the taxpayer is to survive, taxes must be cut; spending must be cut. Public payrolls must be reduced." This is 52 above the national nation-al average of 16.4 as shown by the Bureau of Census. The increase since 1949, is 57,053, or 134 and is nearly five times the 1940 figure of 21,500. Of these employees, 42,425 are employed by the federal government, 22,552 by the state government, and 34,576 by the local government. This makes a grand total of 99,553 employed by government against 298,997 in all other