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A Summary of the Texas State Workforce for Fiscal Year 2002

December 2002

Report Number 03-703

Overall Conclusion

Texas state government employs 142,931 full-time classified employees. There are an additional 10,013 employees in part-time, temporary, exempt, and unclassified positions and 167,664 employees working in various capacities at institutions of higher education. This report focuses on the demographics of only full-time classified employees, hereinafter referred to as "state employees."
The composition of state employees generally mirrors that of Texas' civilian labor force, although there are more females and more minorities in state government.
The average state employee is 42.4 years old, makes an annual salary of $32,238 (up from $27,146 five years ago), and has been with his or her current agency for 8 years (although almost half of state employees have less than 5 years of experience with their agencies).
The majority of state employees are female, work in the Central Texas region, and work in professional and protective service positions.

Key Facts and Findings

There will continue to be a shortage of talent nationwide and throughout Texas:

  • The State's senior workforce is rapidly becoming eligible for retirement.
  • Its entry-level workforce has high turnover.
  • The workforce is inexperienced.

The level of attention given to workforce planning will determine how successfully the State will meet its service obligations to the citizens of Texas.

The demographics in this report are just a beginning. There are self-service tools available to allow agencies and legislative staff to examine trends on a statewide, regional, or agency basis to look toward the future, plan ahead, and prevent surprises. That's Workforce Planning.
The workforce challenges faced by the State are, to some degree, the same risk factors facing the United States as shown in the table on the next page.

Contact the SAO about this report.

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