The private sector is not alone in struggling to attract workers ”“ a new report has found vacancies in one out of six jobs in Connecticut”™s Executive Branch.
According to a CT Mirror analysis of data from the state”™s Office of Policy and Management, all Executive Branch agencies ”“ excluding public colleges and universities ”” have filled 25,700 of the 30,080 positions authorized for them in the state budget. This leaves the Executive Branch with a 17% vacancy rate ”“ prior to the pandemic, the vacancy rate was 9.4%.
Since the beginning of the year, 3,848 employees have either retired or filed notices announcing their plans to step down; prior to the pandemic, the average number of retirees per year ranged from 2,000 to 2,500. A large percentage of this exodus is being attributed to changes in the state”™s pension benefit rules that go into effect on July 1.
Gov. Ned Lamont and the state legislature recently approved four-year contracts with most of the state”™s unionized workforce that include 2.5% annual cost-of-living hikes, step increases that add another 2% to 2.5% points to pay of most state workers, and $3,500 in bonuses this spring and summer.
“Our statewide human resources team is working diligently to refill positions using innovative technology, actively reaching out to organizations and individuals to help ensure we have a representative workforce and using resources like licensing data to recruit qualified applicants for these roles,” said Lamont spokeswoman Lora Rae Anderson.
Here’s a thought, leave the jobs unfilled since no one outside the Executive Branch has even noticed.