If You Post It, Maybe They’ll Apply?

The website Governing posted a piece this week, titled “Government Is Hiring, But Faces Tough Competition for Workers” and it’s worth a read.

Excerpts:”One of the key differences between the 2021 survey and the one conducted following the 2008 recession is a dramatic shift in retirement trends, says Gerald Young, senior research analyst for SLGE. In 2009, 44 percent of respondents said that retirement-eligible staff were planning to postpone retirement, but in 2021 only 2 percent said this. In 2021, 38 percent said retirement-eligible staff were planning to accelerate retirement, compared to 12 percent in 2009.”

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“Recovery for government agencies and citizens alike depends on hiring success. The state and local government employment drop between February and May 2020 was the steepest and quickest in over 20 years, says SLGE’s Joshua Franzel, faster and deeper than what was seen after the Great Recession.It took about eight years for governments to get themselves out of the hole that they dug themselves into by laying off and furloughing workers after the 2008 financial collapse, he says. The lessons learned from this experience are prompting governments to do everything they can to bring back, retain and recruit workers. This must include attention to employee morale, which has suffered considerably during the pandemic, and wellness and assistance programs” (Ed note: and defined benefit pension plans!)