Several Chicago government jobs are hanging in the balance.

Mayor Richard M. Daley recently announced that 1,500 union city employees will be laid off if labor unions don’t agree to various steps that would reduce the city’s personnel costs. The cuts would result in $76 million in annual salary reductions and would save $34 million this year, including $24 million in the city’s corporate fund. Employees throughout 28 departments will be impacted.

The City Council already approved Daley’s proposal for a series of unpaid furlough days for non-union employees, which will save more than $14 million in the 2009 budget and avoid layoffs for non-unionized staff. Under the proposal, 3,700 employees will have to take 15 unpaid furlough days throughout the rest of the year, including six remaining holidays, six furlough days and three days at the end of the year when the government is closed aside from essential services.

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Those with Chicago government jobs work for some of the largest employers in the city.

Government employees dominate the Chicago economy. The government industry alone employed 481,300 workers during May, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the list of largest employers by Crain’s Chicago Business, five of the top six are in government.

The largest, of course, is the federal government, with 78,000 full-time local employees. Chicago Public Schools is second with 43,910 full-time local employees, followed by the City of Chicago in third with 35,570 full-time local employees, Cook County in fifth with 22,142 employees and last the State of Illinois.

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Some Chicago government jobs could be saved as the city takes measures to address its budget deficit.

Mayor Richard M. Daley recently proposed that the City of Chicago cut non-union personnel costs by $10 million and save $2.6 million through management efficiencies. These moves would help the city’s budget deficit, which has increased to $96 million during the first four months of 2009.

“We expect that our revenue deficit will continue to grow, and that it could total more than $250 million to $300 million by the end of our fiscal year in December,” Daley said in a press release. “We will continue to take needed steps to manage our way, month by month, through these difficult times.”

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