Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (ASPEP)

U.S. Census Bureau as authorized by Title 13, United States Code, Section 161 for Census years and 182 for non-Census years.

Measure the number of state and local civilian government employees and their gross monthly payroll for March of the survey year.

The survey provides state and local government data on full-time and part-time employment, part-time hours worked, full-time equivalent employment, and payroll statistics by governmental function (i.e., elementary and secondary education, higher education, police protection, fire protection, financial administration, central staff services, judicial and legal, highways, public welfare, solid waste management, sewerage, parks and recreation, health, hospitals, water supply, electric power, gas supply, transit, natural resources, correction, libraries, air transportation, water transport and terminals, other education, state liquor stores, social insurance administration, and housing and community development).

Data have been collected annually since 1957 with the exception of 1996. There was no Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll for 1996. The base reporting period for measuring employment and payrolls was changed from October to March. This change became effective with the 1997 Census of Governments. A census is conducted every five years (years ending in ‘2’ and ‘7’). A sample of state and local governments is used to collect data in the intervening years. A new sample is selected every five years (years ending in ‘4’ and ‘9’).

Viewable summary tables for each state for each level of government and downloadable data files including summary tables, files of individual government data and files of county area data. Data are presented in total and by function.

The U.S. Congress, federal agencies, state and local governments, educational and research organizations, and the general public employ these results. Some major uses include the following:

• Development of the government component of the gross domestic product estimates
• Development of the national income accounts
• Development of personal income figures for state and county areas
• Allocation of certain federal grant funds
• Legislative research
• Wage and salary negotiations by state and local governments
• Comparative studies of state and local government employment

Please email us at: ewd.employment.survey@census.gov or call 1-800-642-4901.