Does the Federal Government Hire During a Hiring Freeze?

The following post explores: Does the Federal Government Hire During a Hiring Freeze?

When news of a federal hiring freeze hits, people often assume it’s a total shutdown. Yet a quick check of USAJOBS often reveals thousands of active job announcements.

Read: How to Make a Federal Resume

Related: How the Merit Hiring Plan Affects Federal Job Seekers

So, how can there be thousands of job announcements during a freeze? The answer starts with understanding what a federal hiring freeze actually means.

Here’s what you need to know.

What Is a “Hiring Freeze”?

A federal hiring freeze is a policy directive (usually issued via Presidential Memorandum) that prohibits agencies from creating new positions or filling existing vacancies for a set period. 

In laymen’s terms, it effectively means a pause on new hires.

It’s important to note that there are different types of hiring freezes. Ranging from a ‘Full Freeze’ (all agencies), to a ‘Partial Freeze’ (specific agencies), to an ‘Attrition-Based Freeze.’

In other words, some freezes attempt to halt nearly all hiring activity, while others simply slow hiring down or limit how many vacancies agencies are allowed to fill.

Applying in a Hiring Freeze Environment

Landing a job offer during a hiring freeze is more difficult than usual, but it is far from impossible.

In most cases, a hiring freeze does not eliminate hiring altogether—it simply narrows the funnel and makes agencies more selective about which positions they can fill.

As a job seeker, operating in a hiring freeze environment raises the stakes.

Hiring managers are less willing to overlook gaps, make assumptions about potential, or take risks. The review process is more deliberate and you’re facing stiffer competition.

Understanding Mandatory Exemptions

To understand why USAJOBS stays active during a freeze, you have to look at Mandatory Exemptions.

These are ‘get out of jail free’ cards for specific types of jobs. No matter what a headline says about a hiring freeze, the government is legally required to keep certain roles filled to prevent a national crisis.

👉 Most Common Mandatory Exemptions

• Life and Safety: This includes doctors and nurses at VA hospitals, air traffic controllers, and weather forecasters. These roles are exempt because if they go unfilled, the public is put in immediate danger.

• National Security: This covers the FBI, Border Patrol, and critical roles within DOW. The government will not freeze those responsible for protecting the country or its digital infrastructure.

• Legal Mandates: Sometimes, a law or a court order forces an agency to hire. For example, if a judge orders a department to fix a backlog in benefits, that department may be granted a special hall pass to hire the staff needed to meet that legal obligation.

The One In Four Out Rule

One reason hiring can still occur during a federal hiring freeze is attrition.

In simple terms, attrition refers to employees naturally leaving the workforce through retirement, resignation, career changes, or other departures.

Many hiring freezes are designed to reduce the size of the federal workforce gradually rather than stop hiring altogether forever. This is where the “One In, Four Out” concept comes into play. Under this type of restriction, an agency may only hire one new employee for every four employees who leave. The goal is to slowly shrink staffing levels over time without immediate layoffs.

Think of it like a crowded elevator with a strict occupancy limit. If nobody exits, nobody new can enter. But as people step off, a limited number of new passengers are allowed back on.

👉 One In, Four Out Example

Imagine a federal agency loses 40 employees over several months due to retirements and resignations. Under a one-in, four-out policy, the agency may be permitted to hire approximately 10 replacement employees. Those hires are usually directed toward the agency’s most critical or difficult-to-fill positions rather than routine openings.

Due to the federal government being so large, employees are constantly retiring or leaving service. That steady turnover is one reason you may still see thousands of active job announcements on USAJOBS even during a hiring freeze.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope this articles helps with answering this question: Does the Federal Government Hire During a Hiring Freeze? The simple answer is yes. Even when the “freeze” is on, the door is not totally closed. However, it is a much tighter squeeze.

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