Roughly 1,100 applications submitted by former federal workers amid Austin hiring campaign
AUSTIN (KXAN) — President Donald Trump’s promise to cut federal workforce is starting to show in the latest jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor, which indicated 22,000 fewer federal government jobs in the last month alone.
In response to the president’s letting go of some federal workforce, the city of Austin re-launched a recruitment effort its used in the past called the Get Hired campaign — this time aimed at those federal workers.
The city said between March 21 and May 23, the duration of that campaign, the city received roughly 1,100 applications from former federal employees. Of those folks, 30 now work for the city, according to the city’s human resource director, Susan Sinz.
“It is good to see that with that previous federal experience, how much we benefit from that….they understand customer service, I think they understand citizen engagement and they really understand how to be a servant leader and in our community that’s what we’re looking for,” Sinz said.
On average, the city has 100 vacancies at any given time, though that includes everything — lifeguards, librarians, police officers — and those vacancies fluctuate greatly based on season. The city employs roughly 17,000 people, Sinz noted.
Though that program targeting federal employees wrapped up late last month, Sinz hopes those folks will continue to keep their sights set on our city.
“We are excited to have them explore employment here at the city of Austin and really wish them a super long career here,” she said.
