Government is a growth industry in Colorado, but it’s still more lucrative to work in the private sector, according to Census Bureau figures released this week.

Nationwide, 89,526 state and local governments employed 19.4 million workers in 2007, a 5 percent increase since 2002.

In Colorado, about 4,700 government jobs were added from 2002 to 2007, while local governments – cities, counties, school and fire districts – added 14,300 jobs from 1997 to 2002.

Payrolls have climbed with the increase in government jobs, although not as much as in the private sector.

State government’s payroll grew from about $200 million in 1997 to $301 million in 2007. Local government’s payrolls during that time nearly doubled, from $401 million to $728 million.

State government workers’ monthly wages rose 29 percent during the 10 years through 2007 to an average of $3,376. Wage growth was higher for local government employees, whose pay surged by 48 percent to an average of $3,145.

Private sector employees did better, their pay rising 51 percent to $3,807 per month on average, according to the bureau. The number of private jobs in Colorado increased by 18 percent from 1997 to2007, about the same as the growth in state government.

One of the biggest growth areas locally was education, where 30,139 jobs were added from 1997 to 2007, the Census Bureau reported.

Lewis-Palmer School District 38 has seen enrollment skyrocket by 80 percent from 1997 to 2007, while neighboring Academy School District 20 built at least 11 schools since 1997.

“We hire between 150 and 200 new teachers every year to accommodate retirements and resignations, but most are to accommodate additional students,” said Nanette Anderson, District 20’s public information officer.

Falcon School District 49 board member Dave Martin said enrollment there has surged by 60 percent in just five years.

“We’re up to 13,000 kids,” he said. “Just in the last three years we went from 11 schools to a little over 20.”

The Colorado Springs Fire Department matched the state’s 35 percent growth rate for firefighters, thanks largely to the Public Safety Sales Tax approved by voters in 2001, Fire Chief Steve Cox said.

The tax funded the addition of 60 firefighters, three battalion chiefs and several fire stations and equipment, he said.

The tax also benefitted the Colorado Springs Police Department, which grew by 34 percent at a time when police forces statewide grew by 24 percent, according to census and city figures.

When only police officers are considered, the Springs department still outpaced statewide growth, 31 percent to 26 percent.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa’s department lags behind, however, in both jail personnel and patrol deputies.

Total staffing increased 17 percent from 1997 to 2007, compared to the statewide figure of 24 percent, while patrol officers increased 14 percent.

Jail staffers rose by 15 percent, half the statewide growth rate, at a time when average per day jail populations soared by 71 percent.

“I’m not surprised by the comparison,” Maketa said. “We’ve fallen behind and don’t have the staffing we need to provide the services we’re expected to provide.”

Maketa said his requests for staffing increases haven’t been fully funded for years because of the county’s money shortage.