A total of 173 state employees have been laid off in the first two months of the fiscal year that started July 1.
Lindsay Ruiz de Chavez, with the state Department of Civil Service, tells The Times-Picayune that the latest figures show that from July 1, 2008, to Aug. 31 of this year, 2,373 jobs have been abolished.
In the first two months of the present fiscal year, 448 job positions have been abolished, including positions that were vacant.
The largest number of jobs lost came at Forcht-Wade Correctional Center near Shreveport where 158 positions were abolished and 76 individuals were laid off.
The state has more than 51,000 employees on the payroll under Civil Service, and about 33,000 employees outside of the system.
