US state and local government employment won’t return to its pre-recession peak until early 2017, following widespread public sector layoffs that have continued this year, global information company IHS Global Insight said in a report yesterday.

Total employment by states and cities could grow 3.2 percent to 19.9 million in 2017 from 19.3 million in 2012 — an addition of 620,000 jobs, IHS Global said.