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New York City’s government workforce is expected to increase year-over-year for the first time since the pandemic, signaling progress in the city’s efforts to fill vacancies and slow attrition even as some agencies remain short-staffed, according to a new report by the state comptroller.
The city’s full-time workforce stood at around 284,000 as of January, an increase from 281,000 the year before. If that level holds through the end of the 2024 fiscal year in June, it will be the first annual increase since 2020 — although staffing levels remain below that year’s total of 300,000.
The recovery could have implications for city services, which have suffered in the wake of widespread vacancies caused in part by a tight labor market and competition from the private sector. Tuberculosis control efforts and pest-control inspections have declined due to short-staffing at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the city has gotten worse at processing public benefits and delivering meals to senior citizens due to similar shortages, prior analyses found.
But the new report, by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, shows signs of progress. The city’s proportion of open positions has fallen to about 5%, down from a peak of 8% in December 2022. Some of that is due to Mayor Eric Adams’ efforts to cut costs by eliminating vacant positions entirely, but the comptroller also credits the city for holding more civil service exams and increasing outreach through public hiring halls.
The Adams administration also reached new deals with city workers’ unions allowing for higher pay and some remote work — potentially reducing incentives to depart for the private sector. And a hiring freeze that Adams imposed in October was relaxed in February, meaning job numbers could recover further.
Still, staffing is “uneven” between different agencies, DiNapoli’s office found. The Department of Environmental Protection has the highest vacancy rate, at 12%, followed by the Department of Transportation at 10% and Health at 9%. A handful of agencies still face high turnover rates even as attrition has stabilized overall, with the Probation, Buildings and Fire departments all experiencing some of the highest turnover in the past year.
The short-staffing has presented its own budgetary problem, though, by forcing more agencies to rely on costly overtime shifts. The report found that overtime spending has grown to $1.8 billion through March of the current fiscal year compared to $1.1 billion through the same period in 2021 — a growth driven mostly by uniformed divisions like fire investigators and school safety agents.
“The COVID-19 pandemic upended New York city’s public workforce,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “The city has worked to stabilize its labor force and fill critical vacancies, while holding down costs. Staffing remains below pre-pandemic levels, but the city should end the fiscal year with its first increase in headcount since the beginning of the pandemic.”
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Nick Garber , 2024-05-08 11:03:03
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