The federal government is hemorrhaging tens of thousands of employees in light of the Trump administration’s mass layoffs and buyout offers.
For former federal employees and for Pennsylvania’s threadbare workforce, the situation could become an opportunity.
Gov. Josh Shapiro issued an executive order this week aimed at recruiting former federal employees to fill jobs within the commonwealth. It capitalizes on the relevant experience and often analogous roles filled at the federal level to openings at the state level.
“Right now, Pennsylvania still has 540 critical jobs to fill – and we have an opportunity to recruit federal workers and veterans who have significant experience and expertise in all of these fields because they’ve held these jobs already at the federal level or in the military,” said Shapiro.
Per the announcement of the new order, current vacancies include work in fields like “civil engineering, nursing, corrections, accounting, and more.”
“Under this Executive Order, my Administration will consider relevant federal work experience as equivalent to Commonwealth work experience so skilled, experienced federal employees can pre-qualify for existing open positions with the Commonwealth — while continuing to protect pathways for veterans to continue their service.”
The order establishes an “aggressive” recruiting strategy including in-person and virtual job fairs and a new website that matches state positions to their equivalent federal titles in order for potential candidates to better understand their options.
Making the jump between federal to state employment is certainly not without precedent. Johnathan Skripka, director of Disaster Recovery Assistance at PEMA, spoke about the order.
“From volunteering with my local fire department to working with FEMA as an emergency management specialist, my career has been driven by a desire to help others. When I had the opportunity to bring my expertise back home to Pennsylvania, I took it — because I wanted to make a difference here,” said Skripka. “The skills I gained in the federal government have helped me navigate complex policies and deliver disaster relief more efficiently to those in need.
Not everyone sees the order as a positive. Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, released a statement saying, “We must be thoughtful and deliberative when looking to fill state positions. Hiring the most qualified individuals should always be our focus, which does not require any Executive Order.”
The senator also noted that Pennsylvanians were happy about the cuts.
“Cutting waste, fraud and abuse from government is something an overwhelming number of taxpayers have been vocal about supporting across all levels of government,” he said.
Pennsylvania is home to 104,000 federal employees. The cuts have been the subject of widespread skepticism, alarm and criticism. Polling from CBS News and YouGov shows that 40% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s changes to how government works, while an additional 25% say it’s too soon to say and 35% approve. Of the staff cuts specifically, 87% of Republicans approve while 86% of Democrats disapprove.
