Posted by Lending Club :: March 11, 2009 @ 9:05 am

With unemployment significantly on the rise and many companies and local governments downsizing, one entity that seems to be heading in the opposite direction is the federal government.

Many people see the federal government as a solution to difficult economic times. If that’s the case, then expanding the number of federal employees could help to accelerate recovery. The rise in federal headcount can also be attributed, at least in part, to the transition from a Republican to Democratic administration. Democrats historically favor a larger government, which provides more services (at a higher cost to taxpayers), and thus needs more employees. Cutting the workforce deemed critical to aiding the general public seems counterproductive.

Even if the federal government were to hire at its normal pace, its ranks would likely swell. The security of a federal job seems rather valuable at this time. Voluntary attrition is also declining as fewer workers are leaving government service for a less receptive private sector, and those eligible for retirement are deciding to stay a while longer. According to USA Today, The Office of Personnel Management estimates that 58% of supervisory workers (as of Oct. 2004) will be eligible to retire by the end of next year. Hiring replacements for those workers has probably already begun, even though many may choose to wait before retiring.

If you are interested in a federal job, expect significant competition for those positions that are available. The article cited above also reported that 350,000 people applied for the 3,000-4,000 political appointee positions within the Obama administration. Lower profile jobs many not see such astonishingly high demand, but will still be highly competitive. To search for federal jobs, you can use regular job search sites or the official federal job site, usajobs.gov.

Would you consider a federal job?