October 5, 2012

Chart of the Day #2: The Public Sector is Shrinking

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A friend writes to remind me that, aside from a brief census blip in 2010, public sector jobs (state+local+federal) have steadily declined during the Obama administration. At the same time, private sector jobs bottomed out at the end of 2009 and have been on a steady upward rise ever since. “The government sector drag pulls the total down,” she says, “which should be appreciated by small-govt loving Republicans.” It should be! Over the past four years, government has gotten smaller and the private sector has become a bigger and bigger percentage of the workforce. Conservatives ought to be pretty happy.

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DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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