Department of Corrections Accounted for Over 87% of Total Increase in OT Earnings
New York State agency overtime costs increased 22.7% in 2025 for a total of $1.6 billion, while the number of overtime hours increased by 5.9%, or 1.4 million hours, higher than the previous year, according to the annual report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli examining state agencies’ overtime and workforce trends. The size of the state workforce, not including SUNY and CUNY, grew for a third straight year in 2025 increasing by 2.7%, or 4,139 positions, from 2024, to an average annual total of 155,448.
“The use of overtime by state agencies continued to climb with overtime as a share of payroll at its second highest rate since at least 2007,” DiNapoli said. “Agencies need to ensure usage is justified while continuing to safely and effectively provide the services New Yorkers expect and deserve.”
Overtime hours and earnings have continued to surge at the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (Corrections), growing by 1.3 million hours and $264 million in 2025, the most of any agency. The agency experienced a 29.8% decrease in workforce since 2020 when there were 8,544 more employees than in 2025. Between 2024 and 2025, the Corrections workforce decreased by over 2,700 while overtime hours per employee grew 32.7% to reach an average of 432 hours – nearly triple what it was in 2020. These figures were influenced by the strike by some Corrections employees that took place between Feb. 17, 2025 and March 10, 2025.
Key Findings:
- In 2025, total state payroll costs were $22.4 billion, with overtime totaling $1.6 billion. Overtime earnings as a share of total payroll grew from 4.3% in 2016 to 7.3% in 2025
- Three agencies accounted for more than two-thirds of the state’s overtime in 2025. Corrections, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and the Office of Mental Health (Mental Health) comprised 21.7% of the workforce but accounted for 68.3% of the overtime hours and 70% of the overtime earnings logged by all state agencies in 2025.
- Eight agencies performed more overtime in 2025 than in 2024, including Mental Health (327,000 more hours) and the Unified Court System (55,000 more hours).
- Eight agencies performed less overtime in 2025 than in 2024, with the largest reduction at OPWDD (down more than 215,000 hours). There were also drops for the Division of the State Police (-31,500), the Department of Environmental Conservation (-20,600) and the Department of Labor (-19,100 hours).
- Excluding SUNY and CUNY, the average number of annual employees declined from 158,067 in 2016 to 142,396 in 2022. Since then, the number has grown for three consecutive years to reach 155,448 in 2025. Headcount levels remain markedly below those 15 years ago when the state workforce size was over 172,000.
- New hires outpaced attrition in the state workforce. In 2024, there were 18,551 new hires, the highest in the 10 years covered by this analysis, reflecting, in part, the impact of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide (NY HELPS) Program. Attrition from the workforce increased 3.2% to 15,132, driven largely by separations other than retirement.
Report
New York State Agency Use of Overtime and State Workforce Trends, 2016-2025
