US / Federal hiring declines to six-year low

With fiscal pressures continuing to force spending cuts, government agencies made fewer than 90,000 new hires last year, the smallest number in six years and a 37 percent drop since 2009, federal data show.

The government hired 89,689 new employees in 2012, many of whom eventually will move into leadership positions at their agencies. They include the largest number of veterans in recent years (44.7 percent), and three out of four are filling jobs at defense and security-related agencies.

These are some characteristics of the Class of 2012, which was profiled by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Serviceto try to measure what corners of the government are seeking new talent even in a period of contraction.

“Most people have this perception of the workforce as having grown topsy-turvy,” said Max Stier, the partnership’s president and chief executive. “It hasn’t. Every hire is increasingly important.”

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Federal hiring declines to six-year low point – The Washington Post.