Hundreds of state jobs cut since July

Personnel numbers show departments affected

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published October 23, 2008

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More than 800 state jobs have been eliminated statewide since July 31, shortly before Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered a hiring freeze, according to the Department of Personnel.

Facing a budget crisis, Gregoire ordered agencies to cut spending by 1 percent and made plans to extend the cost-saving measures into the budget for 2009-11. Previously, a $3.2 billion shortfall was expected in the next two-year budget. But with the cuts, Gregoire expects to save $330 million this year and $605 million more in the following two years.

In the short run, the freeze is expected to save the state $90 million through June, and $24 million of that will come from the Department of Social and Health Services, spokesman Thomas Shapely said. In the coming two-year budget, the agency's 1 percent reduction is expected to account for $107 million in savings.

DSHS has lost 68 employees through attrition since July 31, leaving it with 19,982 workers. Plans for the 2009-11 budget call for no layoffs, Shapely said. Instead, cost-cutting measures include spending federal grants instead of state money, going through supplies and returning recent equipment purchases.

Other state agencies lost more employees than DSHS between July 31 and Sept. 30, but numbers for many of those agencies always fluctuate because they rely on seasonal employment. Among the biggest losses in other agencies:

• State Parks & Recreation Commission lost 300 employees, from 1,082 to 782.

• Department of Natural Resources, 298 employees, from 1,988 to 1,690.

• Department of Transportation, 191 employees, from 8,324 to 8,133.

• Department of Fish & Wildlife, 25 employees, from 1,834 to 1,809.

• Department of Labor and Industries, 25 employees, from 2,789 to 2,764.

Some positions are exempt from the hiring freeze, including those of corrections officers and others important to public health and safety.

The Department of Corrections has added 105 workers, from 9,025 to 9,130, as it expands its prison space, including a planned 100-bed addition at Cedar Creek Correctional Center near Littlerock. Among the biggest gains in other agencies since July 31:

• Employment Security Department added 29 workers, from 1,937 to 1,966.

• Military Department, 14 workers, from 382 to 396.

• Department of Information Services, 10 workers, from 461 to 471.

• Liquor Control Board, eight workers, from 1,436 to 1,444.

Although the Department of Transportation has lost 191 workers, the number will go up as workers are hired for the ice-and-snow season, DOT spokesman Lloyd Brown said.

Hiring for positions that aren't exempt from the freeze must be approved by the personnel department. Thirty-four agencies have asked to fill 728 positions, and 648 of those hires have been approved, personnel spokeswoman Jennifer Huntley said.

"The majority of positions approved were nonpermanent positions; they were grain inspectors, apple maggot survey workers," she said, adding that 409 of the positions are seasonal hires, mostly for the harvest season.