Barbara Levine, CAPPS  associate director for research and policy was interviewed on November 22, 2013 by Matthew Hall of Capital News Service.  She noted that although the number of correction employees has declined over the past decade, department spending has steadily climbed due to health care costs and salary increases.

By MATTHEW HALL

Capital News Service

LANSING – The number of state employees fell by more than 12,000 between 2002 and 2012, a drop of more than 20 percent, according to Civil Service Commission data.

There were about 61,500 state employees in 2002, which fell to 47,800 in 2012. That excludes employees of the 15 public universities.

The decrease occurred steadily through both Democratic and Republican administrations under Govs. John Engler, Jennifer Granholm and Rick Snyder.

The reasons for the trend vary.