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What is public employment?
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Table of Contents
What Is Public Employment
Public employment is a term used to refer to any type of employment with the government or government agencies.
The idea behind “public” employment is to distinguish it from the “private” sector representing all the companies, individuals, freelancers, and workers hired by businesses of all sizes.
Public employment refers to jobs with the federal, state, or local governments, government agencies, schools, and other operations funded by taxpayer money.
Companies that are in the public sector are typically funded by taxpayer money and have a mission that is different than seeking profits.
For example, firefighters, police officers, law enforcement agencies, and related functions are paid to keep us safe and protect the people.
The objective of funding the police force is not to make money but to provide the people with a safer place to live and work.
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Public Employment Characteristics
Public employment tends to have certain key characteristics.
The most notable feature of public employment is that they tend to be more stable and secure jobs.
For example, the government finances education.
As a result, a teacher’s job is generally stable and essential at all times for a well-functioning society.
Another feature of public employment is that the government tends to pay its employees slightly below what the private sector pays for a similar type of employment.
Since the public sector is more stable and less “risky” than the private sector, public employees prefer to earn a bit less but have the assurance of having a job in the long-term.
Also, jobs in the public sector tend to evolve at a slower speed than in the private sector.
It’s quite common for the public sector to be behind in the use of technology and the latest technological advancements.
Since public jobs are paid for using taxpayer money, public officials have to justify their expenditures.
As a result, funding one area more than others can lead to internal conflict and protests.
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Public Employment Rights
Public employees are well-protected in their rights and status.
Governments, government bodies, and agencies are required to follow specific rules to ensure that they treat their employees fairly and grant them all the proper labor rights.
The public sector typically has many policies and practices ensuring that employees are protected and know how to exercise their rights or initiate recourses.
Quite often, government employees have their own unions allowing them to collectively exercise their rights and have stronger bargaining power.
Police officers, teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, career workers, and public officials, tend to have important protections afforded to them as public employees.
One downside of public employment is that governments may cut spending by cutting jobs and laying off employees.
Since public employment is funded with public funds, one easy way for the government to cut its expenses is to cut its labor force.
However, even with the risk of being laid off or losing your job, public employment is generally more stable than private employment.
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Public Employment vs Private Employment
What is the difference between private employment and private employment?
The main difference between public and private employment is the nature of the employer.
Public sector employers are governments, government bodies, and governmentally-operated entities.
In most cases, governments operate sectors that are not driven by profits but are essential services needed by society.
The salary paid to public employees is generally paid out of funds coming from taxpayers and money collected by the government through taxation or other means.
On the other hand, private employees work for companies that are driven by profit.
Whether the company is privately held or on the stock exchange, the private sector’s main objective is to make money and create value for its shareholders.
Private employees are paid through the money companies are able to make selling their goods and services.
Since the private sector faces fierce competition and changing environments, private jobs are less stable than public jobs.
As a result, private-sector employees tend to make more than public-sector employees for a comparable position.
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Public Employment Examples
Let’s look at a few examples of public employment to better understand the concept.
Public employment can be any job where you are hired by the government, government agency, government body, or public enterprise, such as:
- Military workers
- Law enforcement workers
- Infrastructure workers
- Public transit workers
- Public education workers
- Health care workers
- Public roads
- Water supply
- Telecommunications
- Electrical grids
- Police
- Firefighters
- Teachers
- Nurses
- Doctors
- Government office workers
- Politicians
- Elected officials
- Postal services
- Waste management services
Takeaways
So there you have it folks!
What does “public employment” mean?
In a nutshell, public employment refers to someone who works for the government, a government agency, the municipal, county, or local government, college, university, public services, or any other areas funded by taxpayer money.
The public sector is an important sector of the economy and employs many people.
For example, you have public officials, politicians, career workers, skilled workers, or other employees working for the government or a public entity.
There are many jobs in the public sector and the government is generally the largest employer in most jurisdictions.
Now that you know what public employment means and why it’s important, good luck with your research!
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