Gov. Kemp proposes $5,000 pay raise as employee turnover hits record high

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Governor Brian Kemp wants to give full-time state agency employees a $5,000 pay bump, plus other perks, to boost a workforce experiencing a record-high turnover rate.

Why it matters: Well before the Great Resignation, state employees have been fleeing their jobs, hamstringing the ability of Georgia government to serve the public.

In fiscal year 2021, turnover reached 23%, the highest rate on record, according to a report from the state Department of Administrative Services. It’s the sixth year that turnover has charted higher than 20%.

Details: In a letter sent Friday to state agency heads, Kemp said he was offering their “full-time, eligible benefit” employees a $5,000 pay bump.

The governor, who’s facing a primary challenge from former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, wants to make permanent a $5,000 cost-of-living-adjustment — the first such hike in 14 years, he said, and increase the state’s maximum 401k match from 3% to 9%.

In addition, employees would be eligible to withdraw up to 40 hours as pay annually, which could also buffer agencies from unexpected personnel costs when employees retire.

By the numbers: Millennials (described in the DOAS report as workers born from 1981 to 1997) and GenZ (born after 1998) are leaving state employment “quickly and in significant numbers," according to the DOAS report. "The [fiscal year 2021] turnover rate was 25.7% for Millennials and 76.4% for GenZ,” it says.

Up until six years ago, the state was able to keep up filling jobs as people left, according to the report. (The data excludes Georgia World Congress Center, Board of Regents, and higher education.) Today Georgia has fewer state employees than roughly 14 years ago, Kemp's letter said.

The turnover causes "service delivery challenges due to unplanned lost productivity, increased burdens on staff, recruiting costs, training costs, and impacts to organizational morale.

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