By Chris McConnell
600,000 over three years. 273,000 deemed mission-critical. That’s how many people the Partnership for Public Service projects the federal government will need to hire by 2012 to fill growing needs as well as replacing a baby-boomer workforce set to retire. These numbers and other hiring projections are listed just in time for some Labor Day reading in the third edition of the Where the Jobs Are report issued on Thursday.
That big number of 600,000 is the total hiring during the four years of Obama’s current term for all types of federal government positions. This is equivalent to nearly one-third of the current federal workforce.
For those worried that government is growing, Max Stier, Executive Director of the Partnership puts this number in historical context.
“It’s important to note that while there has been considerable growth in mission-critical jobs, the government is not growing significantly larger in historical terms. By the end of 2012, with all new hires, our nation’s workforce will still be smaller than it was in 1967,” said Stier.
This semi-annual report (the last one was in 2007) provides top-line hiring projections and insight on why the hiring needs will exist. Data was compiled from survey responses by 35 federal agencies, representing 99 percent of the federal workforce. The report was funded with support from Aon Consulting and Monster Government Solutions. (Full Disclosure: Monster Government Solutions & GovCentral are operated by Monster Worldwide)
Three factors that the report deems the primary larger driver of the projected hiring increase: national security, veterans support, and retirements.
One-third of the 1.9 million member civilian federal workforce is expected to retire or resign in the next five years. The Partnership expects over 240,000 federal employees to retire between 2008 and 2012. This means thousands of government job opportunities nationwide.
Maintaining its mission of securing the country, the Department of Homeland Security is projecting 65,730 openings, up 37 percent from the previous report.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, citing an increase in administering benefits, is looking to fill 48,159 jobs.
The report identifies five key areas where these new hires will reside. These five broad professional fields include:
- Medical and Public Health – 54,114 projected hires
- Security & Protection – 52,077 projected hired
- Compliance & Enforcement – 31,276 projected hires
- Legal – 23,596 projected hires
- Administration/Program Management – 17,287 projected hires
More specifically, Where the Jobs Are show some of the various positions that the federal government will need to hire. They include:
- More than 23,000 Attorneys, paralegals and other legal experts to fill positions at 21 federal agencies including the Environment Protection Agency, the Food & Drug Administration and the Department of Justice.
- 5,696 human resource professionals at 14 agencies that identified HR as a mission-critical occupation.
- Biological science experts to fill 4,886 jobs at the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, EPA, and others
- Border patrol agents, customs officers, food inspectors and other compliance and enforcement positions to fill more than 30,000 positions at the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and others.
- Accountants, tax examiners, auditors and budget and financial analystis to fill 16,644 jobs at the IRS, Department of Treasury and 15 other agencies.
- IT experts for 11,549 positions
- Engineers to fill more than 10,642 jobs at the Departments of Defense and Transportation, NASA and more.
Another interesting aspect of the report is the geographical data they include. Not only what positions are projected to be available, but where in the country. Surprisingly, 85 percent of the federal workforce is located away from Washington, D.C. The states with the highest number of federal employees are: California, Virginia, Texas, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, and Ohio.
Ethnic diversity is also something the federal government values. About 17.2 percent of all workers are African-American, 7.5 percent Hispanic, 5.1 percent are Asian/Pacific Islanders and 2.1 percent are Native American.
Be persistent. Be patient
For job seekers frustrated by the government hiring process, Jeff Neal, Chief Human Capitol Officer at the Department of Homeland Security had one simple piece of encouragement, “Be persistent. Be patient.”
Stier in a panel discussion held in conjunction to the release of the Where the Jobs Are report indicated that the dour economy and shifting perspectives of college grads, creates a prime opportunity for the government to recruit highly-qualified individuals for public service.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity restock today for the federal workforce of tomorrow. The best talent will always have options.
Three top human capitol officers (that’s fancy talk for human resources) from the Justice, Treasury, and Homeland Security Department served on panel to talk about where the mission critical positions exist and how these federal agencies were going to undertake such a massive recruitment effort.