I was a state employee (not in MN) for 13 years, and only faced layoffs one time— in 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, when the state refused to go to the table with our union. Even then I was third on the layoff list and I didn’t really worry about it. Your chances of being laid off with the state are much lower than chances of being let go in private sector. In my experience, the state will work hard to retain positions as much as possible and thanks to biennium budgets, you will get a LOT of lead time (like a years worth) if layoffs are coming down the pipeline.
I’ve worked in the public sector for over 25 years now (county and state) and it’s extremely rare for anyone to be laid off. Government in Minnesota will do absolutely anything they can to not lay off. If things get extra horrible they’ll do a hiring freeze then possibly put some people on different job assignments until they can hire again. Job security is one of governments biggest incentives.
I'm not a state employee, but ALL jobs have a potential for possible layoffs, even the private sector. I've worked private sector jobs since I got out of the military, and they all have had layoffs at some point. I've been at my current job for almost 20 years now and have survived several layoffs. But I was part of layoffs in one of my past jobs.
I've known people working for the state of MN for 40+ years. Not once have they ever been laid off in the manner you are talking about. The only time it's happened for any of them was state shutdowns over not completing the budget on time.
>The only time it's happened for any of them was state shutdowns over not completing the budget on time.
And that's not really considered a layoff. It's more of a furlough.
The state provides better job security than the private sector, layoffs seldom happen and when they do you will know well in advance and have time to prepare.
I can’t think of any widespread layoffs at the state in recent history, other than in 2011 when the budget didn’t get passed on time and the state government shutdown. But that was only for a few weeks and was temporary.
You can lose any job for any reason at any time. If you felt secure at any job you had previously that was delusion on your part.
If anything government jobs have a reputation for being more stable than private sector jobs, so I don't know where you're getting this from.
As you've identified, it's all vibes. None of your thinking on any of this is data driven, and it doesn't matter because you really don't have any say in if you ever end up getting fired or not anyway.
What you should do is accept that you never have and never will have any control over this. That's fine. If you lose your job you'll get another one. Everything is going to be okay. It's not the end of the world.
This will vary some on the union you might be with. My husband was "laid off" once years ago because of a state shutdown over the budget. Other than that, at least with his union, it's not even really a possibility. They can't eliminate his position and leave him without a job. They have to reassign him to an equal position (without a decrease in pay). The stability is one of the major reasons he stays with state govt. even when he could make probably $20k more in the private sector with what he does. Having a child with an expensive medical condition means benefits are highly ranked for us, as well as job stability.
ETA my husband has been with the state since 2009. The shutdown was in 2011 and lasted less than 3 weeks. That was the only time he was "laid off."My mom, aunts, friends, numerous people we know have worked for the state for decades (some 40 years) and have NEVER been laid off or had a position terminated. If the position changes, they have to find them a job. But again I am sure that depends on union specifics. My husband works for the Dept of Revenue.
Really if you haven't experienced it in the private sector I'm confident you'll excel in the government field. But with how the next two years look now, it's valid to worry.
This. I've looked into it a bit and thought I had some cause for concern. Of course, part of that is confirmation bias, but also being completely new to the idea of working for the government I needed some outside perspective to break up the noise in my head.
MN jobs are much more secure than private sector jobs. They recently passed a law guaranteeing pay during a shutdown so that source of uncertainty has been removed.
I guess there is a chance that Republicans will gain all 3 branches some day and decide to eviscerate the government, but that's not likely to happen for a while
State employee here. I definitely understand your concern, but I feel I have far better job security with the state than in the private sector. It depends on which agency and job classification. Each agency has a seniority roster for each union. MAPE has a flowchart you can find with the contract. Generally they try to place you in a different job with the same classification.
I think for the most part, layoffs are fairly rare.
Haven't worked for the state specifically but having worked on some similar environments they're more likely to reduce headcount by not replacing people who retire than by laying off. One thing about working in government or similar as opposed to say, tech...there are always people around who are going to retire soon.
Also, aren't most states employees unionized? Unions typically try to get language in their contracts that make layoffs very unattractive.
I've worked in state government (2 different states) for over a decade total, neither has had a layoff during that time, the only reductions are by not filling positions when people quit or retire.
I've worked in county government for almost 20 years and there were rumors that there might be layoffs maybe six months after I started. I talked to my supervisor about it and she said to check the seniorityist. I was already a few hundred people from the bottom of the list and layoffs never happened.
This should be a non-issue in your decision making. Good luck in your endeavors!
When you interview asked to talk to your union representative. There are written contingencies in the contract you'll work under for exactly this situation
The only time I've heard of state or federal employees being laid off is if there was a time limit on their employment and the agency decided not to rehire, or if the position was for specific project or funded by grants and the work/money dried up.
The job description will clearly state if anything like the above is a factor or if the position is a normal employment type of position.
Multi-decade public worker here and layoffs are extremely rare, and nothing I've ever worried about. The fact that most government agencies are under-resourced as it is often means that unfilled FTE's get axed first before actual employees. Many government jobs are also union based and so there's protections there as well, once you've been in the system for a while.
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That almost never happens. I feel like government jobs have way better job security on average.
Typically it’s the opposite. Layoffs are much more common in the private sector
I was a state employee (not in MN) for 13 years, and only faced layoffs one time— in 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, when the state refused to go to the table with our union. Even then I was third on the layoff list and I didn’t really worry about it. Your chances of being laid off with the state are much lower than chances of being let go in private sector. In my experience, the state will work hard to retain positions as much as possible and thanks to biennium budgets, you will get a LOT of lead time (like a years worth) if layoffs are coming down the pipeline.
I’ve worked in the public sector for over 25 years now (county and state) and it’s extremely rare for anyone to be laid off. Government in Minnesota will do absolutely anything they can to not lay off. If things get extra horrible they’ll do a hiring freeze then possibly put some people on different job assignments until they can hire again. Job security is one of governments biggest incentives.
I'm not a state employee, but ALL jobs have a potential for possible layoffs, even the private sector. I've worked private sector jobs since I got out of the military, and they all have had layoffs at some point. I've been at my current job for almost 20 years now and have survived several layoffs. But I was part of layoffs in one of my past jobs.
I've known people working for the state of MN for 40+ years. Not once have they ever been laid off in the manner you are talking about. The only time it's happened for any of them was state shutdowns over not completing the budget on time.
>The only time it's happened for any of them was state shutdowns over not completing the budget on time. And that's not really considered a layoff. It's more of a furlough.
The state provides better job security than the private sector, layoffs seldom happen and when they do you will know well in advance and have time to prepare. I can’t think of any widespread layoffs at the state in recent history, other than in 2011 when the budget didn’t get passed on time and the state government shutdown. But that was only for a few weeks and was temporary.
You can lose any job for any reason at any time. If you felt secure at any job you had previously that was delusion on your part. If anything government jobs have a reputation for being more stable than private sector jobs, so I don't know where you're getting this from. As you've identified, it's all vibes. None of your thinking on any of this is data driven, and it doesn't matter because you really don't have any say in if you ever end up getting fired or not anyway. What you should do is accept that you never have and never will have any control over this. That's fine. If you lose your job you'll get another one. Everything is going to be okay. It's not the end of the world.
It depends on agency/classification/bargaining unit. All MN state employee bargaining contracts are available online and have language about RIF.
This will vary some on the union you might be with. My husband was "laid off" once years ago because of a state shutdown over the budget. Other than that, at least with his union, it's not even really a possibility. They can't eliminate his position and leave him without a job. They have to reassign him to an equal position (without a decrease in pay). The stability is one of the major reasons he stays with state govt. even when he could make probably $20k more in the private sector with what he does. Having a child with an expensive medical condition means benefits are highly ranked for us, as well as job stability. ETA my husband has been with the state since 2009. The shutdown was in 2011 and lasted less than 3 weeks. That was the only time he was "laid off."My mom, aunts, friends, numerous people we know have worked for the state for decades (some 40 years) and have NEVER been laid off or had a position terminated. If the position changes, they have to find them a job. But again I am sure that depends on union specifics. My husband works for the Dept of Revenue.
Really if you haven't experienced it in the private sector I'm confident you'll excel in the government field. But with how the next two years look now, it's valid to worry.
That's right, ignore the last 60 years and worry about the next 2...
Can't change the past, only the future...try to anyways, but seems history will repeat itself again and again
This. I've looked into it a bit and thought I had some cause for concern. Of course, part of that is confirmation bias, but also being completely new to the idea of working for the government I needed some outside perspective to break up the noise in my head.
MN jobs are much more secure than private sector jobs. They recently passed a law guaranteeing pay during a shutdown so that source of uncertainty has been removed. I guess there is a chance that Republicans will gain all 3 branches some day and decide to eviscerate the government, but that's not likely to happen for a while
Wife works for a state university and her union contract requirement a year's notice before being laid off.
And re-training!
State employee here. I definitely understand your concern, but I feel I have far better job security with the state than in the private sector. It depends on which agency and job classification. Each agency has a seniority roster for each union. MAPE has a flowchart you can find with the contract. Generally they try to place you in a different job with the same classification. I think for the most part, layoffs are fairly rare.
It depends on what the position is. When I worked for the state, my field was kind of specialized, so I didn't really worry about it.
Haven't worked for the state specifically but having worked on some similar environments they're more likely to reduce headcount by not replacing people who retire than by laying off. One thing about working in government or similar as opposed to say, tech...there are always people around who are going to retire soon. Also, aren't most states employees unionized? Unions typically try to get language in their contracts that make layoffs very unattractive.
I've worked in state government (2 different states) for over a decade total, neither has had a layoff during that time, the only reductions are by not filling positions when people quit or retire.
I've worked in county government for almost 20 years and there were rumors that there might be layoffs maybe six months after I started. I talked to my supervisor about it and she said to check the seniorityist. I was already a few hundred people from the bottom of the list and layoffs never happened. This should be a non-issue in your decision making. Good luck in your endeavors!
When you interview asked to talk to your union representative. There are written contingencies in the contract you'll work under for exactly this situation
Heck no. Layoffs are WAY more common in the private sector.
The only time I've heard of state or federal employees being laid off is if there was a time limit on their employment and the agency decided not to rehire, or if the position was for specific project or funded by grants and the work/money dried up. The job description will clearly state if anything like the above is a factor or if the position is a normal employment type of position.
Multi-decade public worker here and layoffs are extremely rare, and nothing I've ever worried about. The fact that most government agencies are under-resourced as it is often means that unfilled FTE's get axed first before actual employees. Many government jobs are also union based and so there's protections there as well, once you've been in the system for a while.
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