New Hampshire Gov. Sununu lifts hiring freeze amid shrinking deficit
(The Center Square) – Gov. Chris Sununu is lifting a nearly yearlong freeze on new government hires, citing the state’s improving fiscal situation.
Sununu signed an executive order on Friday that rescinds a directive he issued last March putting the brakes on hiring to help reduce a projected $350 million pandemic-fueled budget deficit. But the revenue shortfall has been whittled down to $50 million, Sununu announced as part of this annual budget address last week.
“The lifting of this hiring freeze is yet another sign that our management paid off and our economy is on its way to returning to the historic highs of before this pandemic,” he said in a statement.
The hiring freeze was one of several cost-saving measures set by Sununu to reel in the state’s projected deficit for the two-year budget, including a pause on out-of-state travel by state employees and a moratorium on capital projects.
At one point, Sununu warned of the possibility of layoffs to reduce the shortfall, which grew to more than $540 million a few months into the pandemic.
Sununu has credited his administration’s “good management” – and $1.25 billion the state has received from the federal CARES Act – with helping New Hampshire survive the worst fiscal impacts of the pandemic.
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