State Workforce grew slightly in 2014; Still about 5,000 smaller than 2008

Alabama state government employs 4,923 fewer people than it did in 2008, according to the figures provided by the Alabama State Personnel Department. With the exception of 2013, the total number of state government employees in 2014 was the lowest it’s been since at least 1996, according to State Department of Personnel annual reports.
 

From 2013 to 2014, state employment edged up slightly with a net increase of 140 employees across all departments, yielding a final total of 30,611 employees. The state employed 35,534 in 2008, before the financial crisis and the years of budget cutting that followed.

The biggest employment declines came in Mental Health (down by 1,593 employees). Much of that decline can be attributed to the closing of three mental health institutions in the state, Partlow, Greil, and Searcy. Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa was replaced by a new hospital and its patient capacity was lowered from 350 to 268. To make up for lost capacity in mental hospitals, the state shifted funding to community-based care operations. The moves were designed to provide care closer to home and family.

The State Health Department also saw a substantial decline in employees. The largest reason for the drop in employment was due to a transfer of a program serving to the elderly and the disabled to the Office of Senior Services. The Department of Senior Services restructured the program with those home care services now being administered by local Area Agencies on Aging. Those agencies, in turn, contract with home health services companies to provide the services to recipients.

A state hiring freeze was in effect for much of the period between 2008-2014, so when employees retired or left for other jobs those positions went unfilled. Some employment changes in various departments reflect other program transfers and consolidations.