Looking for work? Then you may want to head to the nearest government office, because they will soon be hiring. If President Obama’s 2010 budget passes Congress in it's current form, the number of civilian employees in the executive branch will increase by about 140,000 to a total of over 2 million workers for the first time since President Clinton took office in 1992.
The largest increases in hiring will occur in the national security arena. The Defense Department is expected to fill over 19,000 full-time positions, and the Department of Homeland Security will grow by about 7,000. That means increased border patrol, more staffing to enforce immigration laws, and a large-scale conversion from private-sector contracting jobs to federal employee positions. Meanwhile, the Veterans Affairs Department and Social Security Administration will both grow to accommodate the larger pools of veterans and retirement-aged citizens throughout the country.
While the potential hiring spree appears as possible relief amidst growing unemployment, some current officials expressed concerns about placing more burdens on an already overworked staff and stretch budgets even thinner.
“We’re all taking fairly significant budget cuts,” said an anonymous Naval HR director. “We don’t have the money to cover the payroll for people we have now…some things just won’t get done.”
To allay such worries, President Obama has tasked the Office of Personnel Management with formulating and implementing a streamlined hiring process. As the Baby Boom generation begins to retire, this goal may become crucial for an SSA already under pressure to cut into its massive backlog and expecting to hire more than 3,000 workers next year.
Despite some strain on the public sector, John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service espouses an optimistic view. “The administration came in saying they saw government as a vehicle to provide needed services to the public,” he said. “But to do that, we have to invest in the federal workforce.”
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