Idaho's Department of Health & Welfare, the state's largest agency, has seen its employees' workload soar in recent years as caseloads have risen, it's had furloughs, staff reduction and office closures due to budget cuts, and turnover was 13.6 percent in fiscal year 2011, Director Dick Armstrong told JFAC this morning. "The average pay increase for people leaving DHW for private employment was 43 percent last year," Armstrong told lawmakers, urging them to consider funding an increase in state worker pay. "We cannot afford to lose our high-performing and skilled workers," he said.

In 2011, 25 percent of the department's departing employees had exemplary job performance ratings, Armstrong noted, while only 1 percent had negative evaluation ratings. "High performing employees are exiting," he said.