PHILLIP RAWLS, Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama’s state government is going to have 1,100 fewer employees by this fall due to state budget cuts, the end of federal stimulus funding and different standards of care for the mentally disabled.
The state government had more than 37,000 employees when the layoffs started, and they are speeding up as agencies approach the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. Any layoff has an impact on the state’s economy because the average salary for a full-time, permanent state employee was $42,943 as of July 2010, according to the state Personnel Department.
The state Department of Mental Health is looking at a total of 582 layoffs, including 400 from the closure of Partlow Hospital in Tuscaloosa, or about one-fourth of its staff.
The state Department of Agriculture and Industries has cut 89 employees since spring due to budget cuts, or nearly one-fourth of its staff.