WASHINGTON — DC is hiring and hoping that investing in residents will help keep people engaged and families safe.
With violent crime on the rise and the murder rate soaring to numbers we haven't seen since the 1990s, police, city, and community leaders are working to bring peace and opportunity to communities in crisis. A closer look at MPD's crime map by Ward shows most murders are impacting Wards 7 and 8 – communities East of the River that have seen a disproportionate amount of poverty and disinvestment over the years.
"Jobs with DC Government pay well, have good benefits and you can have an immediate impact on your community," explained Mayor Muriel Bowser at a news conference Monday.
Now, the city is hoping to bring opportunity and a job to those who need it. The city is kicking off its Fiscal Year 2024 budget by announcing quarterly job fairs starting November 9 focusing first on veterans and their spouses. While it's still unclear how many positions need to be filled, the last round of hiring fairs turned out 800 new DC government employees in 3 years. However, MPD and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services have among the most vacancies.
“They've done a good job hiring, in fact, they're the number one agency at succeeding at hiring at these quarterly events,” said City Administrator Kevin Donahue. “But they (DYRS) have struggled under the strain of keeping their youth development officers."
“We're not talking about hard-to-fill positions in the district, we're talking about hard-to-fill positions in America,” added Bowser.
Even though teachers have also been under a lot of strain since the pandemic, DC Public Schools is among the top agencies for hiring and retaining educators.
"Our DCPS teachers make on average more than $100,000 a year and the Mayor made sure we make that available to the charter sector," explained Deputy Mayor of Education Paul Kihn.
"Whether you have a high school diploma or you have multiple postgraduate degrees you can show up and know there's a place for you in DC Government,” said Charles Hall Acting Director of the Department of Human Resources.