This hiring bonanza compares to just 5% of new hires being employed by governments over the first eight months of 2022.

Part of the reason for the surge in government hiring is the millions of teachers, police officers, and other public servants who quit during the pandemic. Other positions in government went unfilled because the private sector was so desperate to hire back their employees, they gave huge bonuses and other incentives to workers in order to entice them back to work.

Wall Street Journal:

Public-sector jobs at the federal, state and local level have risen by 327,000 positions so far in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is approaching one-fifth of all new American jobs created in the first eight months of the year. In contrast, public-sector jobs accounted for 5% of employment growth during the equivalent period last year.

"After two years of very underwhelming government hiring, it's a necessary catch-up," said Julia Pollak, an economist at online jobs site ZipRecruiter.