It turns out the government isn't even very efficient at saving money by making workers take time off without pay.

A University of California, Berkeley report says the state will save less money by forcing its workers to take three days off a month than it would if they only missed one day a month.

The cash-strapped state might only save 12 cents for every dollar it cuts out of state workers' wages and benefits.

The report, "The High Cost of Furloughs," released Thursday, cites inefficiencies like forcing workers in revenue-generating jobs to take unpaid time off. It also points to continued accumulation of pension and benefit debts owed state workers who are furloughed.

Furloughs for three days a month will save the state $738 million this fiscal year, but will cost the state $503 million in lost revenue. That makes a net savings to the general fund of $236 million for the three-day-per-month furloughs.

But a one-day-per-month furlough system would save the state $256 million.

If workers have three unpaid days per month, the state will bring in $675 million less in taxes, with $363 million of that hitting in 2009-2010.

And though the state could cut pension payments by $299 million this fiscal year, that money has to be paid back in future, with interest, through an automatic adjustment in the formula for state payments, so the cost will simply be pushed to future years.

One example in the report said Sacramento County can expect to lose about 4,100 private sector jobs due to reduced spending by state workers who are furloughed.

Ken Jacobs of Cal's Center for Labor Research and Education is lead author of the report.

Original Article