And in Virginia, where the state payroll includes 161,600 people, up from 152,700 in February 2009, the new hires are largely in higher education, part of Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's goal of producing a better-educated workforce, said Sara Redding Wilson, the state's human resources director.
"There's definitely pent-up demand" as people retire from and leave state government in general, she said. But "the governor's got a big push toward getting more people educated so we have a talented workforce in Virginia," Wilson added, noting that the University of Virginia is the largest agency in the state.
For states and localities that are hiring new workers or replacing departing ones, many challenges remain. Health and retirement costs remain a worry, and many jurisdictions are moving to trim costs, often by shifting the financial burden to the employee.
Human resources managers are struggling to recruit people with the skills for the jobs that are available, Kellar said. Attracting millennials to government work remains difficult. Even when millennials show an interest, "the jobs that have been critically important to fill have required more experience than millennials have," or demanded special certification, Kellar added.
State and local governments are having trouble filling jobs involving accounting, information technology, finance, mental health, skilled trade work, social work, water treatment and some others, the report said.
"Anecdotally, [human resources managers] said they were surprised at how difficult it is to fill a position when they are able to hire. In the past, they might have had three qualified candidates. Now they have one," Kellar said.
In Tennessee, nearly a third of public employees are eligible for retirement, a number that will grow to 50 percent in five years, said Rebecca Hunter, the state's human resources commissioner. To attract young people and retain current employees, Tennessee has started several professional development programs and is initiating a new pay-for-performance salary structure next year. That plan makes workers feel more empowered, and not resentful of getting the same raise as a lesser-performing colleague, Hunter said. Benefits are also being made more affordable, reversing the tradition, Hunter said, of government jobs that have great benefits but "struggle" in terms of salaries.
"We recognize that the workforce we're trying to recruit is probably not going to stay with us [for many years] like the workforce walking out the door" Hunter said. As a result, she said, prospective recruits will care more about salary than retirement benefits.
More than half of states and localities in the survey reported making changes to health benefits such as shifting more costs to employees and starting wellness programs. But states are also looking for more creative ways to lower costs.
In Virginia, the state will give workers a $50 cash bonus (up to $150) for taking preventive health measures, such as getting an annual physical or a flu shot, Wilson said. The state found that bariatric surgery to treat for obesity was too costly and delivered poor outcomes, so officials now require pre-surgical health counseling and give subsidies for other weight-loss efforts to help obese workers avoid the surgery, if possible.
Montgomery, Ohio, acting on suggestions from employees, came up with a hybrid health plan that has a high deductible. But it includes a health savings account seeded with an initial $1,000 and an additional $750 from city government, said Jim Hanson, the city’s finance director.
Hanson is still trying to fill one plum job: his own, as he will be retiring later in the year. But he said the city has gotten few resumes in response to its advertisement. "There is turnover, and we're filling positions," said Hanson. "But it's getting increasingly harder to get the skills you need."
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