CHART: Why Cutting Public Sector Jobs Usually Means Firing Teachers And Police Officers

Republican lawmakers at the state and local level have cheered public sector job cuts, calling them necessary medicine for economic recovery. However, as this chart from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities shows, public sector job cuts at the state and local level translate, in large part, into firing teachers and public safety workers, as they make up the largest number of state and local government employees. According to the White House, 250,000 teachers have lost their jobs in the last three years.