100,000 New Federal Jobs

A recent Washington Post article suggests that between 100,000 and 250,000 people will need to be hired by the federal government to fulfill the demands of the President’s ambitious budget.  White House budget director Peter Orszag was quoted as saying:

“in several key areas — from properly auditing contracts to providing quality medical care to veterans and reducing errors in Medicare and other programs — investing in skilled professionals will not only pay off over time but also immediately deliver better service to taxpayers.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs expects to hire 17,000 people by year end.  And with a proposed budget increase of 10%,  the Social Security Administration expects to hire people in field offices, hearing offices and teleservice centers.

Bring on the federal hiring blitz!

More Jobs in Washington DC

When most media outlets converge on a single story line – like layoffs -  it’s easy to overlook the other stories.  So, to give some balance to the pack journalism angle about the terrible economy, here are a few recent news stories and how they might positively affect job creation in Washington DC.

From the Washington Post:  If Spending is Swift, Oversight May Suffer.   How will the economic stimulus plan affect hiring in our area?  Well, for one thing, it takes ALOT of people to oversee billions of dollars in spending.  Excerpts from the article:

“Since 2000, procurement spending has soared about 155 percent to almost $532 billion while the growth in the acquisition workforce has fallen far short, rising about 10 percent. . . The government’s watchdog infrastructure, including inspectors general, also will face new challenges. The House and Senate bills each include about $200 million in additional funding for inspectors general. But some observers say that may be insufficient given the demands.”

From CNBC:  FDIC to run “Bad Bank” – FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair has strong support for a “bad bank” which will buy up the so-called “toxic assets” which are clogging the banking system.    The way I see it, a bad bank = good jobs, right here in Washington for all the people will be needed to run it.  Again, it takes lots of smart people to spend that kind of money wisely.

From Reuters:  Mortgage Rescue Plan  – The Obama administration is designing a mortgage rescue program that would ask Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ease payments to thousands of borrowers.  And hey, aren’t they both headquartered right here in our region?

From The Washington Business Journal: Stimulus Offers $6B Green Boost to Federal Buildings - the wounded construction market could certainly use a federal bailout, and they’ll get it in the proposed stimulus plan.  But there will also be jobs created for oversight of the program.  Excerpt from the article:

Center of Gravity Tips Toward DC

Washington’s power and influence is growing as a direct result of the economic crisis.  And talented people and high paying jobs will surely follow. (See my previous posts about The Great Talent Migration).  

The Washington Post ran an editorial this weekend - ”The Height of Power” – outlining how Washington is emerging as “the undisputed center of national power and influence.”    This is not so much due to our inherent greatness (as much as I love this area)  but rather it is due to the collapse of other centers of power such as New York.  The author points to our region’s well educated workforce, relatively low unemployment, and relatively high household income.  But the real power in Washington right now is the federal government’s power to print money and distribute it.  As the editorial puts it:

“All this is bad news for much of America, but it should mean great business for many residents of greater Washington. . . Office buildings in the District and surrounding environs can now expect a new rush of tenants, both from the private sector and the soon-to-be-expanding federal bureaucracies.”

All month I’ve been talking about the “hiring blitz” at the FDIC, at Treasury, at the State Department, and at the FBI.  And more will surely follow.   Just follow the money.

Where the Jobs Are…NOT

“Green collar” jobs, infrastructure investments, financial bailouts…just exactly where will the new jobs come from?  In the Washington region – where the federal government accounts for almost a third of our total economy - we benefit when when Treasury struggles to fill jobs to support the $700B rescue package,  we benefit when the  FDIC hires 1400 new bank examiners,  and when the State Department adds 1,500 positions, and when the FBI starts its Hiring Blitz.  This is why Dr. Fuller reported at the GMU Economic Conference that our local economy still has a “worker shortage” and is still ”importing” people from other areas to fill our jobs.  I’ve been calling it The Great Talent Migration, and it appears it will only increase in 2009 as massive government spending offsets job declines in other areas like construction.  in 2009, DC is projected to gain high paying jobs, not lose them.

Our search practice is thriving.  Maybe it’s because we get better results for far less money than traditional firms, but mostly it’s because hiring is still a challenge for most organizations.  Across the region we have small firms who are expanding, association clients filling key roles in education, certification, and member services.   We’re filling jobs in marketing, nonprofit development, finance and accounting, IT, and HR.   And more and more of our best candidates are coming from outside the region.

So is the “green revolution” overblown?  Well, it depends what you call a green job.   According to a recent analysis done for the DC Office of Planning, the so called “green collar” jobs are often just the same construction workers who were being laid off  in the downturn.  But I think their survey placed too much emphasis on just the green building movement, and not other green jobs. Commenting on the study findings, GMU economist Stephen Fuller observed that the green jobs thing is “substantially oversold.”   

Washington Adding, not Losing Jobs – FBI plans a “Hiring Blitz”

I do love the sound of the words “hiring blitz” but more on that later.

The Washington Post reported today that unemployment in the Washington DC metropolitan area inched up a bit, to 4.4%.  (When I entered the workforce, economists thought an unemployment rate of 5% was “full employment“  – about as good as it gets) .  

The story says “the region created more jobs than it lost” in November, adding nearly 20,000 net new jobs in the past 12 months, and we still have the lowest unemployment of any metropolitan area.   But here is why I will never cancel my home delivery subscription to the Post.  The third sentence in the article reads that “recovery could come much sooner here than in other areas of the country.”    William Mezger, the chief economist for the Virginia Employment Commission says the multitude of new jobs expected to be created by the Obama administration to oversee economic stimulus and bailout programs “could shock the Washington area into recovery quicker than in other places.”  That’s my kind of shock and awe.  Ok, he did not say “hiring blitz” but it’s still sweet music to my ears. 

So who did say hiring blitz?   Reuters reports that the FBI plans a “large hiring blitz” needing to hire 2,100 professional staff vacancies plus 850 special agents.   Uh oh, I hope they don’t get in a bidding war with the State Department, they recently reported a need to hire 1,500 people . . . nah, who am I kidding, that would be great!

Hey have you heard any good “hiring blitz” stories lately?  I just read that Target is having one for their first DC store location.  Of course there is another hiring blitz anticipated for green jobs.

Is the Foreign Service Right for You?

Who is hiring right now? The State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), that’s who.  The State department wants to add 1,500 positions this year, but are you cut out for the Foreign Service?  Take their online quiz to find out.  (Here are two thought provoking questions from the quiz:  “Would you enjoy spending 2/3 of the next 20 years living overseas?”  or “Are you willing to repeatedly get people out of problems they got themselves into?”)

The New York Times recently reported that Senator Clinton has also been pushing for more resources to help the State Department more effectively deal with reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq, and play a larger role in speeding the recovery from the global economic crisis.

In a recent survey, BusinessWeek found that the State Department was rated one of the five most desirable employers among undergraduate students, ranked even higher than the Peace Corps.

I do love news articles about employers hiring in Washington DC . . . don’t you?