Rick,
It’s good to clarify that the 1,629 figure represents real people, not unfilled jobs. Since the 1,629 figure is actually 1,629.06 full-time equivalent positions, the number of real people affected is likely somewhat higher. But it is safe to say that as of Nov. 1, the number of full-time state-funded employees paid severance and/or offered health insurance coverage after losing their jobs is no higher than 1,629.
You are not saying “only 1,629 state jobs were lost.” You are clear about what you mean.
Less clear during today’s meeting of the joint House and Senate Appropriations committee was Senate Minority Leader Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe:
I think probably the better place to look is the Employment Security Commission. They showed about — if you go back to June, from June to now — they showed about 30,000 public employees lost their jobs. Now some were hired back in September, so you’ve got to net that back out. But I think the number ends up being around 20,000. And one of the problems we’ve got out … that’s unemployed people.
One must make a huge leap to assert that Nesbitt includes unfilled government jobs or government jobs that will not be filled in the future in that statement. He said “30,000 public employees lost their jobs” and adds a clarification that the net figure of 20,000 represents “unemployed people.”
No, that’s not true. The Office of State Budget and Management report gives us information about real state-funded public employees who lost their jobs. We are not implying — and others would be wise not to infer — that the 1,629-person figure represents the entire extent of the impact of the state budget on employment.
