Dive Brief:

• The Washington Post reports that several federal agencies are rushing to recruit needed staffers before President-elect Trump's proposed hiring freezes, reportedly set to occur once he takes office on Jan. 20.
• Sean Spicer, the incoming White House Press Secretary told reporters, "After the election, the current administration notified us there would be a hiring freeze as of Dec. 1." Shannon Buckingham, spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget, said via email that "the administration imposed a moratorium on the hiring of senior executives within the civil service."
• Some federal agencies, like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, NOAA, US Patent and Trademark Office, Transportation Security Administration and others were forced to forego vacation plans during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons to conduct extra recruitment work.

Dive Insight:

While none of this news should be a surprise — certainly there have been periods of hiring freezes during past presidential transitions — it should concern those organizations who do business with federal agencies.

Expect personnel shortages and a basic slowing down of services for at least the next few months. Recruiters that work directly with placing candidates in government contracts may find it challenging over the first quarter of 2017. It's clear that Trump wants to 'drain the swamp'. Part of this includes cleaning up federal departments, and reducing costs often starts with the human resource department.