Governor Hochul Announces Suspension of State Hiring Freeze Implemented During the Pandemic

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the suspension of the state hiring freeze through the end of the fiscal year, supporting COVID-19 recovery efforts. The hiring freeze suspension comes after the Governor released the updated State Financial Plan projecting $2.1 billion in revenue above projections as the economic recovery beats expectations. While agencies are now able to hire without first obtaining a waiver from the Division of the Budget, they must prioritize hiring for their core missions and continue to prudently manage their resources.

"As we continue to combat the pandemic, we must keep New York moving forward and that includes building our workforce to ensure we can support New Yorkers at the highest level," Governor Hochul said. "However, we must continue to act responsibly and prudently with the state's finances as we work to slow the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and help to ensure all businesses and New Yorkers remain safe."

Lifting the hiring freeze through the end of the fiscal year will enable state agencies to grow their workforces after the number of workers in Executive Agencies declined from approximately 118,000 full-time employees to approximately 107,500 full-time employees between March 2020 and August 2021, driven by attrition.