More state jobs to be cut as deficits widen

More state jobs to be cut as deficits widen

Widening budget deficits of many U.S. states are forcing governors to cut more state jobs to ease the fiscal crisis.

Thousands of state employees will likely be out of work soon if plans by officials push through. Many of those who will not be let go face salary reductions or a wage freeze.

Georgia wants to eliminate 14,000 state worker positions while New York plans to cut 10,000 state jobs while implementing a freeze on salaries of state employees who will be retained. Texas legislators want the state to shed some 9,300 workers.

Meanwhile California wants its state workers to accept a 10 percent salary cut. Nevada is proposing a 5 percent wage cut for its own state employees.

Eliminating state jobs are nothing new especially in times of economic downturns but the looming cuts are said to be one of the largest ever. Many positions were being retained through the stimulus funds given by the federal government. But those funds are now diminishing and many governors want to reduce their state governments' size to cut costs.

About 397,000 state and local jobs have been eliminated since August 2008, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said. It was the biggest decline since the 1980s.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing a salary freeze for selected workers for the state to cope with a $24 billion deficit in the coming couple of years.

"We have to start with an emergency financial plan to stabilize our finances, we need to hold the line and we need to institute a wage freeze in the state of New York," Gov. Cuomo said in his State of the State speech.

Posted by James Fried on Friday January 28 2011, 3:30 AM EDT. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Finance. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0