Prometheus 6

"The federal government is supposed to be a model employer with hiring practices that focus solely on merit principles," she said, "but this report demonstrates that the foundation of the merit principles established more than 125 years ago that ended the patronage system is under siege."

As an historically and politically aware Black man, I find the above idea to be bullshit. That said...

MSPB: Competitive hiring on the decline
By Brittany R. Ballenstedt bballenstedt@govexec.com July 29, 2008

Federal agencies are turning less often to the traditional competitive hiring process to fill white-collar positions, potentially hurting the government's ability to achieve a diverse workforce, according to a new report by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The report, released last week, found that managers used competitive examining for 28 percent of hires in fiscal 2005. That figure never rose much higher than 50 percent during the previous decade, but 28 percent was the low mark. Competitive hiring had dropped to about 30 percent in fiscal 2002, driven largely by new hiring authorities at the Transportation Security Administration. But then it rose to around 40 percent in fiscal 2003 before the latest decline.

Thirty-six percent of new hires in fiscal 2005 were brought in using the three most common exceptions to competitive procedures: authorities under the 1998 Veterans Employment and Opportunity Act, the Veterans Reemployment Act and the Federal Career Intern Program. Another 36 percent were hired under other exceptions, such as the Presidential Management Fellows program and direct-hire authority.

"There is a role for these exceptions, but their extensive use may have implications for the future and agencies need to be aware of this when they create their recruitment strategies," MSPB Chairman Neil McPhie said.