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Government Sector Overview Women in the Workforce
Government Sector Snapshot | Printable Government Sector Snapshot (PDF)
The government sector, sometimes called the public administration sector, administers government programs, regulates certain industries and provides citizens with services in areas including the military, health care, education, transportation, environmental protection and more. The sector contributed $175 billion to the state’s GDP.
Women account for nearly half of Texas’ 2.1 million government jobs.
Quick Facts
- The government sector contributed $175.0 billion to state GDP in 2016 – 11 percent of total state GDP.
- The sector provided about 2.1 million Texas jobs in 2017, 17 percent of all jobs in the state.
- Between 2010 and 2017, the government sector added more than 52,000 jobs.
Average regional multipliers for the government sector were used to estimate how an initial introduction of economic input in the sector, in the form of sales, jobs or earnings, affects output in the greater Texas economy. These multipliers employed approximate indirect effects on industries that supply goods and services to the government sector and induced effects on industries that sell local goods and services — such as housing, food or entertainment — to workers in the government sector and its suppliers (Exhibit 1).1
Exhibit 1: Average Multipliers for the Government Sector
Jobs
- Average Multiplier: 2.89
- For every 100 jobs created by the government sector, an additional 189 jobs are created or affected in all other industries of the Texas economy.
The average jobs multiplier effect mentioned in this analysis is applicable to any worker in the government sector and does not differentiate effects by gender.
Sales
- Average Multiplier: 2.25
- For every $1 million of sales generated by the government sector, an additional $1.25 million of sales are generated in all other industries of the Texas economy.
Earnings
- Average Multiplier: 2.30
- For every $1 million in earnings generated by the government sector, an additional $1.30 million of earnings are generated by all other industries of the Texas economy.
Sources: Emsi and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Texas Women in Government
In 2017, women held almost 1.2 million jobs in government, accounting for 56 percent of the sector’s jobs in the state (Exhibit 2). Those jobs generate additional business activities that ultimately support about 2.2 million other jobs in other industries within the Texas economy.2
| Description | NAICS Code* | 2017 Total Jobs | 2010 to 2017 Change | Avg. Annual Earnings Per Job** | 2017 Women’s Jobs | Women's Share of Jobs | Location Quotient (Women)*** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government Total | 90 | 2,126,331 | 52,040 | $67,139 | 1,180,615 | 56% | 1.03 |
| Federal Government | 901 | 378,875 | -15,288 | $82,045 | 112,055 | 30% | 0.94 |
| State Government | 902 | 410,895 | -882 | $70,442 | 218,511 | 53% | 0.99 |
| Local Government | 903 | 1,336,562 | 68,211 | $61,898 | 850,049 | 64% | 1.04 |
*The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the federal system used to classify business establishments for statistical purposes.
**Based on total jobs in the industry including both genders. Earning include salaries, wages, benefits and other compensation.
***Location quotient (LQ) indicates the relative concentration of women’s jobs in government versus their national counterparts. The higher the LQ, the more “concentrated” women’s sector employment is in Texas.
Sources: Emsi and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Based on location quotient, a measure of employment concentration in a given area, the concentration of government jobs held by Texas women is slightly higher (1.03) than the national concentration of women in government jobs.
Unsurprisingly, given the large numbers of women working in public schools and hospitals, 20 percent of all jobs held by Texas women are in the government sector.
Of Texas women working in the federal government, about 60 percent work in civilian establishments, not counting the postal service. At the state and local levels, women mostly work in education (Exhibit 3).
Exhibit 3: Distribution of Women’s Jobs at Each Level of Government
Federal Government
- US Postal Service: 15 percent
- Military: 25 percent
- Civilian, excluding Postal Service: 60 percent
State Government
- Education: 56 percent
- Hospitals: 9 percent
- State government, excluding education and hospitals: 35 percent
Local Government
- Education: 75 percent
- Hospitals: 6 percent
- Local government, excluding education and hospitals: 15 percent
Source: Emsi
Texas women working in government earned a monthly average of $3,568 in 2016, 15 percent more than in 2010 (Exhibit 4).
| Year | Average Monthly Earning | Percent Change (Indexed from 2010) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | $3,173 | 0% |
| 2011 | $3,227 | 2% |
| 2012 | $3,250 | 2% |
| 2013 | $3,331 | 5% |
| 2014 | $3,439 | 8% |
| 2015 | $3,845 | 21% |
| 2016 | $3,658 | 15% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Quarterly Workforce Indicators
Conclusion
Texas boasts a higher concentration of women working in government jobs compared to the nation. The number of jobs held by Texas women working at the federal, state and local levels of government generates additional business activities that ultimately support nearly 2.2 million jobs in other industries throughout the state economy.
End Notes
Links are correct at the time of publication. The Comptroller's office is not responsible for external websites.
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The multipliers used in this analysis are averages of the Emsi Input-Output Model’s regional Type 2 earnings, sales and jobs multipliers for all six-digit NAICS categories within the government sector. The Comptroller’s office acknowledges that averaging multipliers introduces aggregation bias. This is a general approximation of multiplier effects on the government sector. For a more precise analysis of multiplier effects, analyze each six-digit NAICS category in the sector and its respective multipliers.
A direct effect is directly related to the production of the good or service of the industry in question. Indirect effects are generated in the businesses that supply goods and services to the industry that aid in the production of the good or service. Spending directly and indirectly generated incomes in the broader economy in turn creates induced effects. Using the government sector in an example, direct jobs would include the number of workers in government. The jobs of a computer wholesaler that supplies the government sector are indirect jobs. The jobs of restaurant workers that serve the government and computer wholesaler workers lunch are induced.
- The jobs multiplier effect mentioned is based solely on the number of jobs held by women.