Budget cuts approved by the Legislature last week are expected to result in a cut of 1,266 full-time jobs in Washington state government.
Most of the cuts are a result of privatizing liquor sales and distribution in the state, but some jobs will also be cut from the Department of Social and Health Services. DSHS, the state’s largest general government agency, has shed nearly 17 percent of its workforce since June 2008. A DSHS spokesman said the agency’s cuts, which include about 440 full-time equivalent jobs, have come while demand for agency services continues to grow. Virtually all of the new cuts are to positions that currently are vacant.
The bipartisan supplemental budget passed last week authorized nearly 105,000 state positions. It is unclear how many of the job cuts – outside of the liquor agency – will result in layoffs.
The last time the state’s work force was smaller was during the 2001-2003 budget cycle, when there were 104,189 full-time equivalent positions on the payroll. (AP)
