Savvy companies seize every opportunity to hire talent from competitors.
So why not the state and local government?
Gov. Kathy Hochul has smartly launched a program encouraging former federal employees abruptly fired by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to come work for the state.
New York has long struggled to maintain its workforce, in fields from clerical work to IT, accounting to engineering, in part because private-sector jobs often pay more and offer more flexibility. An especially tight labor market, at around 4% unemployment in recent years, hasn’t helped.
Hochul saw an opening in the seemingly random and roughshod way DOGE is making its cuts. “Here in New York, we don’t vilify public servants; we value them and their efforts,” she said. About 130,000 federal employees live in New York, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
The state’s campaign targeting them includes a new website with resources to help former federal employees apply for jobs in state agencies, advertised with digital billboards at Washington, D.C.’s Union Station and the city’s Moynihan Station that proclaim: “DOGE said you’re fired? New York says: you’re hired!” in reference to Trump’s famed tagline. “New York wants you!”
The opportunity is enormous: Hochul says the state is trying to fill 7,000 jobs, pointing applicants to particularly in-demand jobs, such as positions related to the state’s clean energy efforts.
New York City could benefit too. The city’s job vacancy rate was about 5.1% in 2024, per the state comptroller. That works out to roughly 15,000 vacancies at the city level, which range from building inspectors to city planners to public health practitioners.
Why does it matter? Well-staffed and well-led government agencies tend to deliver better service to constituents, including companies seeking regulatory approvals or services for their employees.
Some critics of the DOGE layoffs allege the moves are designed not for efficiency but to dent the effectiveness of government agencies that will eventually be targeted for privatization. If they want to offer a contrast, New York’s Democrat-led local government would be wise to show that its agencies can be both efficient and effective.
There are plenty of big challenges for the state to navigate with the chaotic Trump administration – from funding for programs like Medicaid to efforts to stall congestion pricing – but along the way there may be opportunities as well, such as hiring talent to bolster the state workforce.
