MissionSquare Identifies 5 Key Public Service Workforce Trends for 2024

MissionSquare Research Institute named engaging younger workers, enhancing retirement plan features and promoting financial wellness among the five most important workforce trends to watch in 2024.

The trends also include addressing student loan debt and modernizing workforce systems.

“Last year was a challenging year for all employers, particularly in the public service sector,” Deanna Santana, acting CEO and president of MissionSquare Retirement, said in a statement. “Chronic workforce shortages and increased demands for public services make attracting and retaining essential workers a formidable challenge.”

The trends identified were based on MissionSquare Research Institute’s 2023 research, according to the announcement.

The five trends for 2024 are:

• Engage new generations of talent. The Institute’s 2023 survey of more than 1,000 public sector employees age 35 and younger revealed that 49% had some previous part-time or temporary experience with a public agency before joining full-time. Because of the importance of this pathway, bolstering such opportunities may be key to increasing future job applications. Attracting candidates is a matter of familiarization, promotion and engagement, MissionSquare Research Institute found.
• “Familiarization can start at an early age, particularly within K-12 education: visits to city hall, the state capitol, or other venues, and robust civic education,” the report states. “As students start to think about career choices, it is important for public employers to actively promote explorer programs, job shadowing, internships, or short-term service projects. These may be standalone opportunities or paired with training programs, such as in skilled trades or utilities”;

• Expand automated retirement plan features. MissionSquare Research Institute analysis provided an overview of how auto-features are structured and presented case studies on their application in the public sector;
• Support employees’ financial security. Public service employees grapple with many concerns about their financial security, with 68% worried about personal financial issues while at work;
• Understand and address student loan debt. In the Institute’s survey on Morale, Public Service Motivation, Financial Concerns and Retention, 80% of public employees indicated that their debt is a problem, and 77% said it is an obstacle to saving more for retirement. Additionally, 26% of employees indicated that they currently have student loan debt for themselves, while 11% carry student loan debt for a spouse, child or other family member; and
• Modernize workforce systems and classifications. The 2023 Workforce Survey results evidenced both the application of technology and the limitations of that approach. Of the HR managers surveyed, 93% reported needing to re-open recruitments at least occasionally because they received an insufficient number of qualified applicants, while only 9% of employers offered a mobile app to track the status of their applications, the institute found.