Government employee numbers versus private industry

The economic downturn has taken a far greater toll on private sector jobs than it has government ones.

A few 10-year graphs courtesy the St. Louis Fed:

All Employees - Government 

All Employees - Total non-farm

All Employees - Private Industry

If you want to spend some time on your own looking at various sectors of private versus government employment, the St. Louis Fed makes it easy with this graph maker.