State employment at record high, restored to pre-pandemic levels

The number of state employees in Indiana has recovered from pandemic lows and now exceeds pre-pandemic records, with more than 32,000 Hoosiers employed by state government agencies.

There were 32,075 employees working for 80 different state agencies and departments as of July 12, according to the Indiana Transparency Portal. This count is the highest it’s been since the Indiana State Personnel Department, or INSPD, began recording employment in 2016.

Like many other institutions—both in the private and public sectors—state government employment dropped significantly from 2020 to 2022. The State Personnel Department reported that Indiana’s state government lost more than 2,000 employees from May 2020 to May 2022.

However, Cris Johnston, director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget, said employment for the state executive branch is now back to pre-pandemic levels.

“When the pandemic hit some people decided to say ‘well, you know what? I have to work remotely,’” Johnston said. “Some people said ‘I’m just going to retire, I’m not going to come back.’”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau survey, 4.6% of adults 62- to 65-years-old said they retired early or planned to retire early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many state agencies also saw many younger workers leave, with employee turnover peaking at 25% in 2021.

In 2022, the Indiana Department of Health reported it lost about 330 of its 760 full-time clinical employees, approximately 43% of its workforce, during the pandemic. Other agencies—including the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Indiana Department of Environmental Management and Attorney General’s Office—saw many employees leave.

New flexible work, employee policies

Johnston said the state adopted flexible remote-work arrangements, salary increases, education reimbursement policies and leave opportunities to increase recruitment.

“Things that you might find in the private sector have been introduced in state government in the last couple of years as well, trying to be competitive,” Johnston said.

In February 2022, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced several policy changes targeting employee engagement and compensation as part of his “NextLevel State Work” initiative. The changes included allowing some state employees to work up to 15 hours per week remotely and reimbursing full-time employees for higher education and professional licensing. Holcomb also issued an executive order to allow new employees vacation leave time — something previously not provided for state employees for the first six months of employment.

Holcomb also directed the INSPD to conduct a compensation study of the 800 different job classifications and make policy recommendations to “ensure that state employment remains competitive in Indiana’s rapidly changing job market.”

This study found that Indiana’s salary range minimums were 30% behind the private sector minimums for similar roles and Indiana lost significantly more employees than it was able to hire. As a result, state employees received a 5% or higher cost of living salary increase in November 2022.

Johnston also said many state agencies have added new grant management positions to handle an influx of federal grants.

Still, Johnston cautioned there could be nuances in the state’s employment data. The Indiana Transparency Portal bases its total headcount off the number of people the state comptroller’s office pays.

The number of employees could appear to drastically change if new departments or positions—that previously didn’t appear in the data set—are added. For instance, in June 2022, 764 employees were suddenly added to the Supreme Court’s employee headcount, even though these were not new positions.

“It looked like, in one day, employment grew by 800 people,” Johnston told the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Some state agencies, including the Indiana Department of Health, might employ contractors who do not show up on the transparency portal’s headcount.

Some departments still struggling

While the overall number of state employees has increased, some agencies have struggled to recover to pre-pandemic levels. For instance, Johnston said many “very, very tough jobs” in the Department of Correction (DOC) and Department of Child Services (DCS) are vacant or experience high turnover.

Despite having the highest number of employees of any agency, with 5,257 employees counted in the transparency portal, the DOC has struggled to bounce back. In March 2020, the DOC had around 5,600 employees, but that number dropped to 5,300 by September 2020. Since then, the department’s employment has fluctuated and ultimately dropped to a low since 2016 of 4,895 in October 2022.

Gregory Dunn, communications director for the DOC, said in an email correctional officer positions are the hardest to fill. The DOC staffs 21 different corrections facilities across Indiana, which also makes recruitment difficult. Dunn said that recruiting and retaining employees is a top priority for the agency.

“We actively participate in community events and job fairs to connect with potential candidates, Dunn said. “Additionally, we are committed to providing our staff with the resources and tools they need to perform their jobs effectively, thereby creating a more supportive and attractive work environment.”

The Department of Child Services, which currently employees around 4,000 people, has also struggled to recover. Unlike many other agencies, DCS’s employment actually increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, jumping from around 4,800 in January 2020 to an all-time high of 4,993 in June 2020. However, that employment then quickly dropped to 3,776 in October 2022.

By November 2023, though, the agency shared that its family case managers, or FCM, were able to meet 99% of demand in Indiana. However several regions in southern Indiana—including Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson and Shelby counties—still faced FCM shortages.

Brian Heinemann, deputy director of communications for DCS, said in an email his agency increased its advertising and attended more job fairs to bolster recruitment efforts. He said the statewide compensation study also helped the DCS’s recruitment.

Additionally, Heinemann said the DCS launched a peer support program called “Worker2Worker” to connect staff with retired DCS workers “who understand and relate to what they experience and can provide ongoing support.” DCS also launched a special response team to support employees who have witnessed difficult events, he said.

Employment trends for each state department are available on the Indiana Transparency Portal.

The INSPD’s compensation report found that high turnover rates and vacant positions were “costly for the state of Indiana” and that turnover has had “a negative financial impact on the State of Indiana.” However, Johnston said the state government is not necessarily losing any money because of turnover.

“If you’re constantly having retention issues and turnover, there’s obviously a cost involved with bringing new people on board, getting them up to speed, training them for their job responsibilities,” Johnston said. “So there is a cost to it, but you know, as far as losing money, I wouldn’t put it in those terms.”