print logo
Main Content Anchor

2022 Annual Census of Employees in State Civil Service Report

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Purpose of the Report
​Executive Summary
​Summary​ of Civil Service Composition
​Regional Profile
​Civil Service Representation of Persons with Disabilities
​Limited Examination & Appointment Program
​Civil Service Representation of Veterans
​​Civil Service Hires & Separations
​​Data References

202​2 Census Tables
​

​​​​Purpose of the Report

​The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) prepared this report for the Governor and the Legislature in accordance with Government  Code sections ​19405, 19792 subdivisions (h), (​i) and (j), 19792.5 subdivisions (a) and (b), and 19793.

This Annual Census of Employees in State Civil Service Report conveys data on the California state civil service (civil service) representation by race, ethnicity, gender, disability, veteran status, and age for state employees for the period January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022.1 Civilian non-institutional California labor force​ (state labor force)2 and California state population data are also included ​for comparison.

To fully achieve the goal of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and non-discriminatory employment practices within civil service, CalHR provides statewide leadership, coordination, and technical guidance to state agencies.

Authority to compile this report derives from Title 2, Division 5, Part 2 of the California Government Code, and it does not include information for those exempted from civil service status under Article VII, Section 4 of the California State Constitution.

Executive Summary

CalHR strives to make employment with the State of California reflect California’s diverse population.

This report provides civil service employee demographics, and in some instances, comparable California labor force and population demographics for context. The report includes civil service hire and separation data as well as salary comparisons. Further, it includes the number of participants in the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP). The percentages in this report are rounded to the nearest 0.1 percent.

In addition to this printed report, CalHR has published its first Census Dashboard. The new 2022 Census Dashboard provides the public the opportunity to review the data in this report in a more robust and interactive way. For instance, the public can review demographic data by region or by department. The public can also use filters to better analyze the data and uncover insights.​​

Summary of Civil S​ervice Composition

In December 2022, the California labor force was comprised of approximately 19.2 million non-farm workers. Of the 19.2 million, approximately 18.5 million Californians were employed and approximately 716 thousand were unemployed.3 As of December 2022, California’s 219,793 civil service employees accounted for approximately 1.2 percent of California’s employed.​

​Race &​ Ethnicity

​Persons who identify as White, Hispanic or Latino, or Asian make up more for than 80 percent of California’s Civil Service. The following chart shows a race and ethnicity breakdown of California’s Civil Service:

​
How does the civil service compare with state labor force and state population? The chart on the following page compares California’s population with its labor force4 and civil service:​

​
​The civil service had a smaller percentage of persons who identify as Hispanic or Latino than the state labor force and the state population. However, the civil labor force has a much higher percentage of persons who identify as Multiple Races than the state labor force and the state population.

Age

When comparing age groups, the civil service had a higher percentage of persons ages 30 to 59 while the state labor force had a higher percentage of persons Under 30 and Over 59. ​The most common age range in civil service was the 40 to 49 age range. The following chart compares age groups of the civil service and the state labor force:

​
A tabulation of civil service disability and veteran status by age shows the following results. More persons with disabilities were in the 50 to 59 age range than any other age range. For veterans, the percentage was highest in the 40 to 49 age range. Both groups had the lowest representation in the Under 30 range. The following chart compares age groups of persons with disabilities and veterans:

​
​Considering gender by age range in civil service, the chart below compares gender by age range:

​
More than 60 percent of men and women are older than 40 years old. For a further breakdown of the age ranges of civil service employees, including by department and by geographic region, see the Department Profile section and the Region section in the 2022 Census Dashboard.

Job Category 

For reporting purposes, CalHR uses federal job categories to compare data consistently with the state labor force.5

The Business and Financial Operations, Protective Services, and Office and Administrative Support categories represent over 55 percent of the civil service workforce but just over 18 percent of the state labor force. The Personal Care and Service, Arts, Design, and Entertainment, and the Farming, Fishing, and Forestry categories represent less than 1 percent of the civil service workforce but over 7 percent of the state labor force.

The following table compares the civil service and the state labor force by job category:​​

​
Business and Financial Operations, Protective Service, and Office and Administrative Support job categories represent the highest percentages in civil service. In contrast, Management, Office and Administrative Support, and Sales and Related categories represent the highest percentages in the state labor force. The top three categories with the highest proportion of women were (1) Business and Financial Operations, (2) Office and Administrative Support, and (3) Healthcare Practitioners and Technical. The top three categories that had the highest proportion of men were (1) Protective Service, (2) Business and Financial Operations, and (3) Architecture and Engineering. 

For a detailed breakdown of gender composition by job category and a detailed breakdown of race and ethnicity by job category, see the Job Category Composition section in the 2022 Census Dashboard.

Salary 

Civil service employees had the highest percentage in the $80,000-$89,999 salary range. More than 55 percent of civil service employees earned more than $80,000 a year. 

More than 50 percent of men made more than $90,000 while more than 50 percent of women made below $80,000. The salary range with the highest proportion of men was $100,000-$109,999 while the salary range with the highest proportion of women was $50,000-$59,999. The following chart compares the salary ranges of civil service employees by gender:​​

​
For a detailed breakdown of ci​vil service salary ranges, including by ethnic group, see the Salary Range Composition section in the 2022 Census Dashboard​. 

In civil service, the salary range with the highest proportion of persons with disabilities was $80,000-$89,999 while the salary range with the highest proportion of veterans was $100,001- $109,999. The following chart shows the salary ranges of persons with disabilities and veterans:

​
The median annual salary for men was $91,308 while the median annual salary for women was $77,580.

The median annual salary for persons with disabilities was $83,778 while the median annual salary for veterans was $82,884.​

For a further breakdown of civil service median salaries, including by ethnic group and by job category, see the Median Salary section in the 2022 Census Dashboard. ​

Regional Profile

Civil service data in this report was organized into five geographic regions in California: the Sacramento Region6, the Los Angeles Region7, the San Francisco Region 8, San Diego County, All Other Counties in California9. The following chart shows the percentage of California’s 219,793 civil service employees by region:

​
Fifty-nine percent of California’s civil service employees work in the Sacramento Region or the Los Angeles region.
​
For a detailed breakout of demographics by region, including the number of employees employed by department in a particular region, see the Region section in the 2022 Census Dashboard.

Civil Service Representation of Persons with Disabilities​

Disability data is captured through a confidential and voluntary online survey provided to state employees. The State of California defines disability in accordance with Government Code section 12926. The data is provided in reports to Equal Employment Opportunity offices for identification of discrimination or possible barriers to employment.

Persons with disabilities are better represented in the civil service workforce than in the California labor force. In California, 4.7 percent of the labor force identified as having a disability:

​

​As part of the workforce analysis process agencies are required to set goals for improving their representation of Persons with Disabilities. For information about State Civil Service Disability Representation and Hiring Goals by department, see the Persons with Disabilities Dashboard.​

​​​

Limited Examination & Appointment Program

The Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) is an examination program that offers an alternate means of assessing the qualifications and skills of job applicants with disabilities. Once a LEAP candidate is selected for a position, they complete an on-the-job testing phase, called the Job Examination Period (JEP). After successful completion of the JEP, candidates may be appointed to the parallel civil service classification​. 

LEAP Statistics for 2022: 
​
  • 224 are participating in LEAP Testing Phase.
  • 210 people transitioned from LEAP Testing Phase into LEAP Position.
  • 58 people separated from LEAP Testing Phase.10
For a detailed breakdown of LEAP employment statistics by department, see the LEAP section in the 2022 Census Dashboard.

Civil Service Representation of Veterans​

As of December 31, 2022, California employed approximately 10,745 veterans.11 In 2022, veterans represented 4.9 percent of the civil service, 2.9 percent of state labor force, and 4.8 percent of California’s population:

​
Veterans represented 3.0 percent of intakes (new to state and new employees to a department) and represented 9.5 percent of retirements from civil service in 2022. The proportionately high retirement rate among veterans in state civil service is consistent with federal estimates showing that over two-thirds of California veterans are age 55 and older.12

For more detail about veterans, see the Veterans section in the 2022 Census Dashboard.

Civil Service Hires & Separations

Hires Overall

33,242 persons were hired into civil service during 2022. This was approximately 0.17 percent of the state labor force according to the Employment Development Department, Report 400 C for 2022. There were 22,602 advancements, and 889 demotions in civil service during 2022. 

The following chart summarizes intakes, advancements, and demotions by age range in 2022:

  • Intakes: Intake appointments include new-to-state service hires and new employees transferring into a state department. It does not include interdepartmental appointments.
  • Advancements: A civil service appointment is counted as an advancement any time there is a classification change and an increase in pay of at least one dollar.
  • Demotions: A change in civil service appointment to a lower paid classification. This could be initiated by an employee’s preference to voluntarily demote or by the employer.​


​
Nearly 67 percent of civil service intakes in 2022 involved persons who were age 39 or under. Approximately 64 percent of advancements in 2022 involved persons who were age 30 to 49. More than 63 percent of demotions in 2022 involved persons who were age 30 to 49. 

For more detail about civil service intakes, advancements, and demotions, see the Hires section in the 2022 Census Dashboard.

Upward Mobility

California state departments are required to submit to CalHR information on their upward mobility programs and provide annual goals for hiring employees from low-paying occupations into entry-level technical, professional, and administrative positions. For more details about the Upward Mobility Program, see the Upward Mobility Program Dashboard.​

Separations Overall

A permanent separation from civil service may be due to retirement, layoff, acceptance of an exempt appointment, resignation, rejection during probationary period, dismissal, or death. There were 19,318 permanent separations from civil service during 2022, which is approximately 8.7 percent of the 219,793 employees as of December 31, 2022.

During 2022, over 65 percent of voluntary separations from civil service came from those age 39 or younger:​

​​
Here are some facts about separations due to retirements in 2022.13​​

  • 9,131 (47.3 percent) of permanent separations were due to retirement.
  • Of race and ethnicity, the highest retirements were White (49.7 percent) and Hispanic or Latino (21.3 percent).
  • Women represented 44.9 percent of retirements while men represented 55.1 percent.
​For a detailed breakdown of permanent separations from civil service, including retirements, see the Separations section in the 2022 Census Dashboard.​
​

Data References

The State Controller’s Office provided CalHR with transactional payroll reports that included salary, employee demographic, appointment, separation, and workforce data for state employees. In the 2022 Annual Census of Employees in State Civil Service Report, demographic and workforce data as of December 2022 was used. The total count of separations and appointments for the calendar year of 2022 is reported. 

California State Labor Force Data
Civilian non-institutional California labor force (CA Labor Force) and California state population (CA Population) data are included for comparison and are from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2021 5-Year Estimates tables. The age, ethnicity, and salary range CA Labor Force and CA Population data was provided by the California State Census Data Center at the Department of Finance. The following 5-year tables were used from the ACS:

  • B21005 – Age by Veteran Status by Employment Status for the Civilian Population 18 to 64 Years – 2021 ACS 5-year estimate filtered for California.
  • C18120 – Employment Status by Disability Status – 2021 ACS 5-year estimate filtered for California.
  • S1810 – Disability Characteristics – 2021 ACS 5-year estimate filtered for California.
  • S2101 – Veterans Status – 2021 ACS 5-year estimate filtered for California.
  • S2401 – Occupation by Sex for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over – 2021 ACS 5-year estimate filtered for California.
​California labor force information ​was provided by the California Employment Development Department in Report 400C: Monthly Labor Force Data for Counties December 2022.

Percentages in this report may not total 100 percent due to rounding.​​​​

Endnotes

[1] Sources of data are the California State Controller’s Office, the Employment Development Department (EDD), California state agencies, and the United States (U.S.) Census Bureau. ↩


[2] The U.S. Census Bureau defines the non-institutional population as “The civilian population excluding persons residing in institutions. Such institutions consist primarily of nursing homes, prisons, jails, mental hospitals, and juvenile correctional facilities.” ↩


[3] Report 400C: Monthly Labo​r Force Data for Counties, Employment Development Department, December 2022. Note: Data from Report 400C may be rounded. https://edd.ca.gov/en/about_edd/news_releases_and_announcements/unemployment-december-2022/ ↩


[4] 5-Year American Community Survey 2017-2021. ↩


[5] Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Standardized Occupational Classification System Major Occupational Groups. ↩


[6] The Sacramento Region consists of the following counties: El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba. ↩


[7] The Los Angeles Region consists of the following counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. ↩


[8] The San Francisco Region consists of the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma. ↩


[9] The All Other Counties in California include: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, and Tuolumne. ↩


[10] Information is from the State Controller’s Office Current and History files. These show current and immediate past positions, but not prior positions, so only those in the JEP and those in their initial civil service position following conversion to a civil service position from the JEP are identifiable. Because a JEP may overlap the ending of a calendar year, the same candidate may be shown in the testing phase for two sequential years. ↩


[11] Veterans’ data is collected through CalHR’s veteran status survey and through veterans filing for preference while applying for initial hire into state civil service positions. ↩


[12] 5-Year American Community Survey 2021 ↩


[13] Includes retirements and disability retirements. ↩



​
  Updated: 12/6/2024
One Column Page
Link Back to Top