Back on February 1, we published an item titled “A Newly Optimistic Picture for State HR,” which indicated that the public sector workforce shortage appeared to be easing somewhat. At the time, we received and wrote about some well-warranted pushback from observers who pointed out that, even though progress had been made in some sectors, many hard-to-fill occupations were still facing dramatic shortages.

It’s not time to pop the champagne cork on that issue, but a July 23rd research report by the Mission Square Research Institute, in collaboration with the Public Sector HR Association (PSHRA) and the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE), shows that the needle may finally be moving measurably on a number of those hard-to-fill job fronts.  

As the report states, “More than half of all respondents identified multiple occupations as hard to fill. . . However, there is some positive movement. For 11 occupations including information technology, dispatch and policing, the share of government reporting them as hard to fill has declined by at least 10 percentage points since 2022. An additional seven occupations, including maintenance work engineering and nursing saw improvements of at least five percentage points. Of all the occupations surveyed the only one that saw an increase of five percentage points or more rating as hard to fill was mental health professionals.”

Of course, even with this positive trend many cities, counties and states are still confronting difficult recruiting and hiring times ahead. But you’ve got to take your good news where you can find it.

As Gerald Young, MissionSquare’s Senior Researcher said in a statement, “The data indicate that state and local governments are making real progress when it comes to addressing their workforce shortages. Government employers have been experimenting with a range of initiatives that are getting results – marketing campaigns, hiring bonuses, pay boosts, and modifications to job requirements. The next challenge for state and local leaders will be ensuring they have ample workers as a large portion of the workforce retires from public service.”

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