Security, law enforcement workers in high demand

The federal government must hire nearly 193,000 people to fill mission-critical jobs in the next two years, with much of the need in the areas of security and law enforcement, according to a new report by the Partnership for Public Service.

The report, released Tuesday, summarizes the government's most critical hiring needs -- by agency, occupation and skill -- through September 2009. The Partnership surveyed 34 agencies that employ almost 99 percent of all full-time permanent employees.

"This report confirms that job opportunities are there," said Max Stier, president of the Partnership. "People just need to seize them."

The need to replace hundreds of thousands of retiring federal workers over the next five years is one of two key factors driving recruitment, the report stated. Nearly one-third of the government's 1.6 million full-time employees are expected to retire or resign in the next five years, according to the Partnership.

The second key driver is the need to keep Americans safe. The report projected the need to fill 83,000 jobs at the Defense and Homeland Security departments over the next two years, and it noted that there will be a need to fill 62,863 jobs that are specifically related to security and law enforcement over the same period.

The report also cited the need to hire more than 23,000 nurses, 3,462 biological scientists, 22,329 transportation security officers and 8,300 contracting experts.

The Partnership added that the Federal Aviation Administration needs to fill 15,004 air traffic controller positions over the next decade. Labor unions and some lawmakers have expressed concern over the reported drop in controller staffing levels, with the loss being attributed largely to a retirement wave.

The group noted some trends in hiring since a 2005 report, including an increased need for law enforcement officers, information technology specialists and health care workers. The demand for secretaries, administrative assistants and clerks continues to decline, the report said.

The Partnership also highlighted some of the benefits of working in government, including recruitment bonuses, relocation incentives and graduate school scholarships.

Additionally, agencies can offer student loan repayments of up to $10,000 per year for a total of $60,000 in exchange for at least three years of service. The Justice Department is the leading agency for student loan repayments, having granted 3,073 payments totaling more than $27 million in fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2006, the report stated.

The Partnership also highlighted the government's focus on diversity, noting that about 17.6 percent of federal workers are African American, 7.6 percent are Hispanic, 5.2 percent are Asian and 1.9 percent are Native American. Men make up 56 percent and women constitute 44 percent of the federal workforce, the report stated.

The report said about 86 percent of federal jobs are located outside of Washington, D.C., and more than 50,000 are stationed abroad. Areas with the highest numbers of federal workers include Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego, New York City, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.