Harrisburg, PA – Today, Secretary of Administration Neil Weaver announced continued progress in making Commonwealth recruitment and hiring faster, reducing the average time to hire an employee by 42 percent — from 90 days in January 2023 to 52 days, as of April 2026. Since Governor Josh Shapiro took office, the Office of Administration (OA) has prioritized increased transparency and responsiveness in hiring processes to attract highly skilled and qualified employees to work for the people of Pennsylvania.
Faster hiring is also helping reduce vacancy rates for mission-critical roles. Positions tied to permitting, licensing, and certification have seen vacancy rates drop from 14 percent in early 2023 to approximately 5 percent. This improvement has helped agencies dramatically reduce workloads and resolve longstanding bottlenecks, including the Department of Environmental Protection's elimination of a 2,400-permit backlog and the Department of State’s work to cut licensing and business processing times by an average of 74 percent in 2025.
“We are moving faster than ever to place dedicated professionals in roles that directly serve Pennsylvanians. When we fill positions more quickly, we can deliver services more efficiently, reduce backlogs, and better meet the needs of our communities,” Secretary Weaver said. “These improvements are the result of deliberate, sustained work to rethink how we attract talent and support our workforce.”
In 2023, OA updated procedures for non-civil service hiring to limit the application period to five days for most positions and reordered administrative steps to maximize efficiency. Acting on data showing the interview phase is the longest step in the hiring process, OA provided new guidance to hiring managers to streamline interviews and encouraged the use of an online self-scheduling tool for interviews. Three years later, these changes continue to drive down hiring time.
OA partners with agencies to host hiring events at Commonwealth facilities where job seekers can apply on-the-spot, be interviewed, and receive a conditional job offer for some positions. OA will host the third annual Commonwealth Job Fair on May 21 in Harrisburg for job seekers to meet with over 35 state agencies to learn about hundreds of job openings across the state, how to apply, career pathways, and employee benefits.
Artificial intelligence has also contributed to innovations in recruitment and hiring. Human resources staff are using approved generative AI tools to assist with updating job classifications and position descriptions for vacant positions and drafting clear, accessible, and engaging job postings to attract qualified applicants. Human resources staff leveraged generative AI to swiftly analyze the requirements of jobs prioritized by state agencies and identify comparable positions in the federal workforce to help fill critical vacancies with former federal employees.
OA continues to assess how AI can improve recruitment and hiring and recently issued guidance for job seekers and hiring managers on acceptable uses. For example, applicants can use AI for research before a job interview and to practice answering interview questions. However, AI cannot be used during the interview to help respond to questions. Hiring managers can use AI to summarize interview notes and draft job descriptions, but they cannot use it to assess interview responses or make hiring decisions. Additionally, OA continues to rely on experienced evaluation staff to review each job application that is submitted to assess qualifications.
“AI is increasingly influencing both how applicants prepare and how employers manage hiring,” said Deputy Secretary for Human Resources and Management Jason Swarthout. “We want to ensure a level playing field for everyone who applies to work for the Commonwealth. Being transparent and providing clear guidance on how AI can and cannot be used are critical to maintaining trust in the hiring process.”
The Office of Administration (OA)’s work to streamline and modernize the hiring process was featured in the From the Frontlines 2026 report by Work for America on how state and local governments are evolving with changing labor market conditions and addressing structural challenges that slow hiring.
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