Work for America Report Finds Public Sector Attracting More Applicants but Struggling to Convert Hires
Report finds rising applicant volume due to AI tools and broad labor market shifts is exposing operational bottlenecks in government hiring systems.
BROOKLYN, NY — Work for America today released From the Frontlines 2026, a new report examining how hiring conditions across state and local governments nationwide have evolved over the past year. While applicant volume has generally increased as a result of AI-enabled job search tools and a historic outflow of federal workers, new research illustrates how hiring challenges stem not only from limited candidate supply, but also from government’s ability to process applicants effectively, revealing longstanding inefficiencies in hiring systems.
The report, which is based on anonymous interviews and surveys of more than 70 government HR leaders representing over 740,000 public employees, identifies that even when talent supply is plentiful, internal system performance holds the public sector back from effective hiring. These operational challenges include system bottlenecks, fragmented process ownership, and negative candidate experience, leading to disengagement over time. Simultaneously, structural challenges across the public sector such as compensation limits and civil service constraints are harder for individual government teams to address internally; these factors continue to shape and potentially limit who governments can hire.
“Across the country, we’re seeing a new reality: interest in public service is growing, but hiring systems aren’t keeping up,” said Caitlin Lewis, Executive Director of Work for America.“Local government is where so much of real life actually gets better – safer streets, cleaner water, stronger schools. The opportunity in front of us is to build hiring systems worthy of that mission, so that when great people want to serve, we can actually bring them in.”
“State and local government is where public policy becomes real for people’s lives — and staffing is what makes that possible. From the Frontlines shows that many governments today don’t have a shortage of talent, but a systems problem in how they hire. Work for America is helping governments modernize those systems so interest in public service actually turns into people on the job, delivering results for their communities,” said Derek Kilmer, Senior Vice President of U.S. Program and Policy at The Rockefeller Foundation.
As From the Frontlines 2026 calls for a broader shift in how public sector hiring is understood and addressed, the report highlights jurisdictions across the country that are already demonstrating what improvement can look like through targeted operational changes:
The City of St. Louis, MO reduced hiring times from over nine months to approximately three months by simplifying workflows and modernizing systems;
The City of San Francisco, CA improved hiring timelines by clarifying ownership and establishing centralized accountability;
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reduced hiring timelines by identifying and addressing bottlenecks in interview stages;
The Cities of Albany, NY and Akron, OH improved candidate engagement through clearer communication and stronger employer value propositions;
The City of Tucson, AZ strengthened targeted recruitment pipelines through partnerships with local institutions.
Together, these examples show that meaningful improvements are achievable within existing constraints, but scaling progress requires a stronger focus on hiring system performance, shared metrics across jurisdictions, and greater support for implementation.
These findings build on Work for America’s 2024 From the Frontlines report, which captured the long-term trends contributing to staffing shortages in government roles. Despite an increase in applicant volume illustrated in the latest report, governments are still struggling to move qualified candidates through hiring systems quickly enough to bring them onboard.
Work for America’s efforts represent a new kind of infrastructure for public service hiring, one that combines technology, human connection, and on-the-ground partnership to solve a challenge that has long limited government’s ability to deliver for its communities. From WFA’s Civic Match platform, the first national talent platform designed specifically for state and local government hiring, to WFA’s Talent Accelerator program, a cohort-based program helping city governments improve their hiring systems, these efforts are designed to help governments both expand access to mission-driven talent and improve how hiring systems operate in practice.
The report underscores a clear takeaway: interest in public service is growing, but hiring systems must be able to convert that interest into action. When they don’t, communities feel the impact through delayed services and unfilled critical roles. Strengthening hiring systems is essential to how effectively governments deliver for the people they serve.
Read the From the Frontlines 2026 report here.
About Work for America
Honored by Fast Company as one of 2026 World’s Most Innovative Companies, Work for America is a nonpartisan nonprofit rebuilding the talent pipeline into state and local government. We connect talented professionals to public sector roles, help governments modernize how they recruit and hire, and inspire the next generation of public servants to see government as the most powerful place to drive progress. By expanding pathways into government and telling a new story about public service, Work for America is helping communities build the teams they need to deliver results.
Our work has been recognized by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and TIME. Read more here.
