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Local Government Employment, 1997

Definition:

Employment figures are expressed as full-time equivalent employment, a computed statistic representing the number of full-time employees that could have been employed if the reported number of hours worked by part-time employees had been worked by full-time employees. This statistic is calculated by dividing the ''part-time hours paid'' by the standard number of hours for full-time employees in the particular government and then adding the resulting quotient to the number of full-time employees.

Scope and Methodology:

The U.S. Bureau of the Census conducts an annual survey of government employment as authorized by Title 13, United States Code. This survey measures the number of government civilian employees and their gross payrolls for the month of March. These statistics represent the cumulation of the number of employees for all local governments in the state or county (counties, municipalities, townships, special districts, and school districts).