New York paid 24,000 state workers $100K or more in 2011

Democrat and Chronicle reports:

Nearly 24,200 state employees earned more than $100,000 in 2011, down about 2.6 percent compared with 2010, state records show.

But employees earning more than $200,000 grew from 622 employees in 2010 to 701 employees last year, an increase of nearly 13 percent, according to records from the state Comptroller’s Office.

It was the first time since 2004 that the number of people earning more than $100,000 in state government fell. The number had quadrupled between 2000 and 2010, from 5,800 to 24,807.

The dip may be attributable to pay freezes and retirements in the state workforce, which has decreased in recent years due to budget constraints. The number of employees of the state’s executive branch has fallen nearly 12 percent since 2007, from 138,000 to 122,000 workers.

The Barack Obama voter: government workers.