CHEYENNE: The Wyoming Liberty Group released an analysis of state and local government employment data showing that in Wyoming, the burden of government is going up while in most other states it is going down.
“Even more bureaucrats in Wyoming is a move in the wrong direction,” said Dr. Sven Larson, research fellow at the Wyoming Liberty Group. “It means workers in the private sector will have to pay higher taxes to fund bureaucrat salaries and private sector employers will have more difficulty finding qualified employees.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wyoming has more government workers compared to private sector worker than any other state, and by a large margin. As shown in the table below, Wyoming’s burden of government employment grew from 299 per 1,000 private sector workers to 318, the highest of any state. Additionally, Wyoming now has almost twice as many government-to-private-sector workers than the national average.
“Wyoming has a good business tax climate but the burden of government regulation means the overall business climate is deteriorating,” said Larson. “As the state becomes more dependent on government employment, wealth creation in the economy is hampered by regulation — a hidden tax. If we want a future for our children and grandchildren in this state, we must turn this trend around.”
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Read the State Employment Data analysis here
For more information, please contact:
Sven Larson, Research Fellow, Wyoming Liberty Group, 307-632-7020
