Posted: 2:07 am ET
Updated: 2:27 pm PT
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The AP’s Matt Lee reports that the State Department was granted an exemption from the Trump administration’s hiring freeze on most federal employees. It will bring on 175 new diplomats: 70 entry-level diplomats, 80 mid-level specialists and 25 consular fellows, non-foreign service officers who assist visa processing at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
The report says that the State Department has been granted an exemption from the Trump hiring freeze. The number only includes a fraction of the projected hires this year for the Foreign Service. The State Department has projected 615 positions for FY16 which includes 97 new positions and 518 projected total attrition (employees lost to retirement, resignation, death). Total hiring for FY17 is projected at 599 with 98 new positions and 501 projected total attrition.
It looks like this exemption affects only the March classes scheduled to start on March 6 for FS officers, and March 20 for FS specialists (see @StateDept Sends Out Job Offers to Prospective FSOs For March 6 Class But — Will There Be Jobs?). Beyond these positions, it appears that the hiring freeze is on, including a halt in the hiring of eligible family members.
There are classes scheduled for July and September but it appears no invitations have gone out for those classes. The State Department’s careers.gov says, “We do not yet have information regarding hiring authority for future classes. This is not unusual.” We anticipate that the OPM plan required after 90 days under the federal hiring freeze executive order will be available by then.
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