Public Sector Job Losses Front and Center

August 09, 2010

The job numbers released last week made it clear that the economic recovery is slowing down, and the increase in state and municipal worker layoffs is one of the chief factors. Not counting losses from temporary census workers, public sector job losses rose to 48,000 in July as many states began a new fiscal year facing huge budget shortfalls.

Economist Robert Brusca tells CNNMoney.com that this crisis was foreseeable — and action is needed to prevent even more losses:

"All of us knew that the municipal government funding is a ticking time bomb. There's more pressure on municipalities rather than less. Putting a Band-Aid on the municipal economy makes sense."

That Band-Aid will come in the form of H.R. 1586, a jobs bill being voted on by the U.S. House during an emergency session this week. The bill will provide $26 billion in federal aid to state and local governments and school districts at a time when some estimates put nationwide state budget shortfalls as high as $140 billion.

Without action, the economy could lose as many as 900,000 jobs in both the public and private sectors.

Read the full article at CNNMoney.com, then call your representative and urge them to vote yes on the jobs bill to get this critical aid to states.