Good health insurance and security are more important to job-hunting Americans than pay, according to a recently released poll from the Washington-based Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE). Poll respondents also said that state and local government jobs offer better benefits, job security and a chance to contribute to society.

Given a list of 15 job benefits and characteristics, 85 percent of respondents ranked health insurance as most important, while 65 percent ranked pay at No. 10. Security, according to the poll, included job security, the promise of retirement income and clear work policies. Job characteristics such as quick decision making, working with talented managers, having potential for promotions and being creative and intellectually stimulating also ranked higher than pay.

The entire report is available at www.slge.org.