In 2016, Millennials became the largest generation in the U.S. labor force. More than one in three participants in the workforce are Millennials, born between 1980 and 1995. As of 2017, 56 million Millennials in the U.S. were working or seeking employment, surpassing Generation X and Baby Boomers. Millennials are employed in both the public and private sectors. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 22.5 million U.S. workers are government employees. As of December 2019, 2.8 million workers serve at the federal level, 5.1 million are at the state level, and 14.6 million work for local government.

The Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), in partnership with the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) and the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE), has been surveying human resources directors in state and local governments since 2009. This year’s survey continues many of the questions from that original survey, with additional detail around emerging issues such as flexible workplace policies, positions that are difficult to fill, and the reasons for separation as discussed in exit interviews. This year’s survey was conducted from February 27 to April 7, 2020, with a total of 222 respondents.

2020 will likely be remembered as the year the workplace changed forever. From in-office safety measures to work-from-home conference calls, leaders have been forced to reimagine every aspect of their management culture.

What's essential to performance? How does personal life shape professional life? What do our core values really mean when the marketplace throws a curveball?

As leaders navigated 2020's tough questions, many made transformative discoveries and tapped into new performance potential. After 12 months of challenges, leaders can walk away with decades' worth of invaluable workplace lessons.

How have U.S. workers handled disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak? And how have key measures like employee engagement and wellbeing fared? Jim Harter, Gallup's Chief Scientist on Workplace and Wellbeing, joins the podcast to break down Gallup's latest findings.

Twenty-one states began 2020 with higher minimum wages. Seven states (Alaska, Florida, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, South Dakota, and Vermont) automatically increased their rates based on the cost of living, while 14 states (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Washington) increased their rates due to previously approved legislation or ballot initiatives.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics provides information on the employment situation. Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality. This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. 

CBO presents its projections of what federal deficits, debt, spending, and revenues would be for the next 30 years if current laws governing taxes and spending generally did not change.

Discretionary spending by the federal government totaled $1.6 trillion in 2020, of which $714 billion was for national defense and $914 billion was for nondefense activities.

The federal deficit in 2020 was $3.1 trillion, equal to 14.9 percent of gross domestic product.

Mandatory spending by the federal government totaled $4.6 trillion in 2020, of which $1.9 trillion was for Social Security and Medicare.