The State of Local Government Hiring 2026
Here's the good news: local government hiring is recovering from the pandemic.
Here's the complicated news: it's recovering slowly, unevenly, and with some fundamental challenges that aren't going away on their own.
We've been tracking government hiring data, talking to HR directors across the country, and watching what's actually working. Here's what we're seeing.
The Recovery Is Real (But Fragile)
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, government employment grew by 709,000 jobs in 2023, with local governments leading the way by adding 351,000 positions. State governments added 273,000 jobs – the largest percentage gain since 1968.
That sounds great. And it is! But let's add context:
Government employment only recovered to pre-pandemic levels in September 2023. That means we spent three years just getting back to where we were. Meanwhile, the population grew. Service demands increased. Infrastructure needs expanded.
As AFSCME pointed out, even with growth, there were still 850,000 state and local government vacancies as of late 2023, with only 330,000 hires that month. The gap between openings and fills? That's your real problem.
Where Hiring Is Getting Easier
According to the 2024 State and Local Workforce Survey from MissionSquare Research Institute, there's genuine improvement in recruitment challenges:
For 11 occupations, including IT, dispatch, and policing, the share of governments reporting them as "hard to fill" declined by at least 10 percentage points since 2022.
Another seven occupations, including maintenance, engineering, and nursing, saw improvements of at least five percentage points.
What's driving this? A few factors:
Competitive compensation: Governments raised pay to compete with private sector
Flexible work: Remote and hybrid options became standard, not exceptional
Benefits awareness: Better communication of total compensation packages
Streamlined processes: Some governments simplified applications and reduced time-to-hire
In other words: when governments adapt to what candidates want, it works.
Where Hiring Still Struggles
But not everything improved. Some positions remain stubbornly hard to fill:
Specialized technical roles (data scientists, cybersecurity)
Healthcare workers (especially in rural areas)
Skilled trades (electricians, HVAC, heavy equipment operators)
Entry-level professional roles (the pipeline problem)
The common thread? These are either:
1. Highly competitive positions where private sector can outbid government, OR
2. Entry-level roles where candidates don't understand what the job actually is
But the second one isn’t necessarily a lack of skills or compensation. It’s a lack of communication. And it's fixable.
The Application Quality Gap
Here's something interesting from NeoGov's data: government job postings are drawing fewer applicants than before the pandemic.
But it's not just about volume. It's about qualification.
The MissionSquare survey found that for many key occupations, more than half of respondents said they received fewer qualified applicants.
Think about what that means:
You're getting some applications (they can find the posting)
But they're not qualified (wrong people are applying)
While qualified people aren't applying (they don't recognize it's for them)
That's a targeting problem. Your job postings are reaching people, just not the right people.
The Gen Z Factor
Only 7% of federal employees are under 30, compared to 20% of the overall U.S. workforce.
Let that sink in: the government is missing two-thirds of the young talent it should have proportionally.
This isn't because young people don't want government jobs. Research shows the federal government is the second-most-desired employer among college students (after Google).
So what's happening?
Young candidates can't:
Understand your job titles
Navigate your application systems
See how their skills translate to government roles
Find your postings where they actually look for jobs
Meanwhile, the private sector is on LinkedIn, Handshake, and TikTok. With clear job titles. Simple applications. And messages like "Make an impact" instead of "Performs administrative duties."
Guess who's winning that battle.
What's Actually Working
The government agencies that are succeeding share common strategies:
1. Translation to Their Language, Not Just Posting and Walking Away
They rewrite job titles and descriptions in plain language. They keep official classifications in the fine print but lead with what the job actually involves.
2. Benefits Communication
They show total compensation, not just salary. Pension value. Healthcare coverage. Student loan forgiveness eligibility. Work-life balance that's real. (Take that Google.)
3. Alternative Experience Recognition
They accept military experience, nonprofit work, and private sector backgrounds as equivalent to government work experience. They focus on the skills attained, not where they came from.
4. Process Simplification
They've reduced application questions, streamlined screening, and cut time-to-hire from months to weeks. Because every extra day is a day qualified candidates accept other offers.
5. Meeting Candidates Where They Are
They post on LinkedIn, partner with universities, show up at career fairs, and yes, even experiment with social media. If your ideal candidate is on TikTok, your recruiting content should be too.
The 2026 Outlook
Here's what we expect to see this year:
Continued improvement for most positions at the local and state levels, but the rate of improvement will slow unless governments fundamentally change how they attract talent.
Persistent challenges for specialized technical roles, where local and state governments need to get creative with compensation and work arrangements.
A growing urgency around succession planning as baby boomers retire and Gen Z still isn't flowing into government at replacement rates.
And most importantly: a widening gap between governments that adapt their recruiting strategies and those that don't.
The talent exists. The jobs exist. The disconnect is solvable.
The question is: will you solve it in 2026, or spend another year struggling with the same problems?