Cost of Illinois workers increases as numbers fall

Rockford Register Star reports:

The state of Illinois had slightly fewer employees last year but it cost a bit more to pay them, analysis of state data showed today.

Officials attributed the increased cost mainly to raises required by union contracts and higher overtime costs created by a shortage of employees.

The state delivered paychecks to 78,567 people in 2010 — 369 fewer than in the previous year, according to an analysis by the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus.

Despite that slight reduction, total payroll costs climbed $95 million to $4.45 billion, an increase of about 2.3 percent.

That's why Illinois needed a whopping state income tax increase: to fuel the growth in government spending.