Unemployment is on the rise and companies are laying off workers, but one bright spot for job seekers in Georgia has been in government work.

The $21 billion state budget that took effect July 1 includes about 400 new jobs. That's on top of about 11,000 positions added over the previous three years, about half of which came at the state's largest employer, Georgia's public university system.

Outside of government, jobs have dried up in some industries in the weak economy. The statewide unemployment rate in June was 5.7 percent, up from 4.4 percent a year earlier.

But the new state budget is sprinkled with jobs, from payroll clerks, agriculture teachers and elevator inspectors to prison guards, forestry arson investigators and people to answer phones at the state's customer service call center.

The latest positions were added by Gov. Sonny Perdue and lawmakers at a time when state tax collections were beginning to head south. Earlier this month Perdue announced the state would have to use $600 million in reserves to pay its bills because of declining tax collections.

The new state jobs could be in jeopardy because Perdue might have to order spending cuts in coming months if the economy doesn't turn around. The governor has already asked state agencies to prepare contingency plans for a possible 3.5 percent budget cut.

Some lawmakers were surprised by the growth in state jobs since the last recession.

"It's ridiculous," said House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans), whose committee approved the budgets that paid for the new positions. "I don't think anybody had any idea we've grown that much."

Employment at cities, counties and school districts also has grown in recent years. But up-to-date figures aren't available to compare whether that growth matches the state increase.

Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said the job growth shouldn't come as a surprise, since governments provide services to people, and Georgia's population continues to grow. The state's population increased about 5 percent between 2005 and 2007, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

"If you've got cities and counties growing in population, there will be an increased demand for services, and in order to deliver those services you have to have a larger workforce," Thurmond said. "It's going to show up in the number of people working in state and local government."

Government work, while often not as high-paying as similar positions in the private sector, has traditionally been considered steady and relatively secure.

In the past, the government would sometimes still be hiring when private industry wasn't.

"In times like these, the banks are laying off, everybody is laying off, a lot of people wind up in government," said Wayne Garner, former state prisons commissioner. "When times were bad, you'd always be getting a call from somebody saying, 'Can you help me out.' "

But government work is not the safe haven it used to be.

The city of Atlanta laid off workers this year when it ran into financial troubles. State agencies shed jobs in 2003 when Perdue faced a funding shortfall during his first year in office.

The recent buildup in state jobs began after the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005.

The number of jobs in the agencies under the governor's office grew 16 percent. That doesn't include the more than 100 positions added for the state accounting office, a new agency Perdue started a few years ago. The governor's office includes everything from his administrative staff, the inspector general's office and the Office of Planning and Budget to the teacher standards commission and the state arts council.

20 percent job growth in university system

Some of the biggest growth has come in the University System of Georgia. Office of Planning and Budget figures show an increase of about 20 percent in the number of jobs in the system. Enrollment in system schools grew by about 8 percent from the spring of 2005 to this spring.

This year's budget includes 38,470 authorized positions for the university system, although the schools employ more than 40,000 when jobs funded by sources other than the state are included.

Susan Herbst, executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer of the system, said the increase in the number of jobs is linked directly to more students attending college.

Many of the jobs are for instructors to teach the nearly 20,000 students the system has added since spring 2005. In addition, schools have increased support workers, such as lab and computer staffers as they upgrade and expand the use of technology.

"It's all oriented toward instruction, whether it's a conventional classroom in an English 101 class or whether it's one-on-one instruction in a lab," Herbst said. "It's going to always follow the student growth."

The university system — which has a $2.3 billion state budget this year — is among the agencies worried about the possibility of spending cuts in coming months. University of Georgia President Michael Adams last week said he was "gravely concerned about the impact of losing 100 faculty positions" if the school is forced to cut 5 percent.

Perdue hasn't made any decisions on what, if anything, will have to be cut.

Thurmond's Labor Department has seen minimal increases in recent years. But this year, lawmakers approved $450,000 to fill vacancies and add new positions. He said that's mainly to take over inspecting elevators in Atlanta from the city government. Thurmond said his agency has had "scores" of applications for a handful of jobs.

But some agencies aren't hiring.

For instance, despite a national mortgage crisis, the Banking and Finance Department has seen virtually no change in authorized positions. Neither has the state agency that regulates insurance.

Even when Perdue recommended new jobs for Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, lawmakers didn't approve them.

"It's been real difficult over the years," said Oxendine, who is running for governor in 2010. "What we did is we simply looked for ways to use technology to be more efficient. We took a business approach and if you weren't willing to pull your weight, we got rid of you."

While he thinks his agency could have done a better job with a few more employees, Oxendine added, "In general, there is fat in state government."