EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, OCTOBER 19, 1998 (MONDAY) Public Information Office CB98-195 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) e-mail: pio@census.gov Nancy Stencel 301-457-1529 State Governments Employed Nearly 3.5 Million Full-Time Workers in 1997, Census Bureau Says State governments employed 3.5 million full-time workers in 1997, an increase of less than 1 percent over 1995, according to tabulations for the 50 states released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The tabulations show most full-time workers were employed in education (1.1 million), followed by hospitals (431,000) and correctional activities (428,000). Others worked in police protection, streets and highways, public welfare, financial and central government administration and other governmental activities. The 1997 state government employment and payroll data provide statistics on full- and part-time employment, gross payrolls, part-time employee hours worked and full-time equivalent employment statistics. The data in this report are not subject to sampling variability. The data are subject to response errors and data processing errors.-X-The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In more than 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.