Federal Workforce: Actions Needed to Improve Recruitment and Retention in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. Territories
GAO-25-106527
Published: Oct 15, 2024. Publicly Released: Oct 15, 2024.
Fast Facts
The federal government has struggled to hire and retain employees with the skills it needs in Hawaii, Alaska, and the U.S. Territories. Agencies we interviewed gave several reasons why, including:
Higher cost of living, such as higher grocery and housing costs
Lack of quality services—such as health care and childcare
Difficulties with the federal hiring process and incentives, like paying for relocation
We made 12 recommendations to the agencies we interviewed that would improve their strategies for hiring, recruiting, and retaining the employees they need.
Highlights
What GAO Found
Overall federal government employment trends between 2018 and 2023 were similar across the U.S. but varied by noncontiguous location. For instance, during fiscal year 2022, more federal hiring occurred in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska than in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Attrition rates slightly increased during the period, with attrition rates in the noncontiguous U.S. being higher than the mainland. Retention rates for federal employees were generally similar in both the noncontiguous U.S. and the mainland.
Five selected agencies described a variety of socioeconomic, administrative, and geographic challenges that affect recruitment, hiring, and retention of employees in the noncontiguous locations. Socioeconomic challenges include the high costs of living and relocation, limited opportunities for local career growth, and lack of quality services and infrastructure. Administrative challenges commonly cited include difficulty with the federal application process, the effective use of hiring authorities and incentives, and headquarters' staff understanding the needs of staff involved with hiring in these areas. Geographic challenges included limited local candidate pools and limited access to training in Hawaii and the Pacific territories.
Bethel, Alaska
Selected agencies have made efforts to overcome these challenges. However, GAO identified many instances where the agencies' actions could be improved. For example, staff involved with hiring for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) cited challenges with their mainland offices understanding the needs in these geographic areas. By examining how they solicit and use information on staff experiences, agencies will be better positioned to resolve their concerns. Also, FEMA, NPS, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) commonly cited challenges with access to live virtual training at a reasonable time for employees in Hawaii and the Pacific territories. Without reasonable access to training, agencies may be limiting meaningful and engaging opportunities for their staff, which could affect staff job performance.
Why GAO Did This Study
Federal agencies' ability to address the nation's social, economic, and security challenges relies on a workforce that can ensure service delivery to the public across the country, including areas distant from the mainland in Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories.
GAO was asked to review recruitment, hiring, and retention of federal employees in the noncontiguous states and territories. This report examines (1) federal employment trends in the noncontiguous U.S. compared to the contiguous U.S., and (2) challenges and successes selected federal agencies experience, and opportunities to enhance existing efforts.
GAO analyzed Office of Personnel Management data from 2018 to 2023 to identify trends, reviewed related documents and interviewed agency officials. GAO interviewed officials from FEMA, FWS, NPS, SSA, and TSA about their efforts to recruit, hire, and retain employees in Alaska, Hawaii, and five U.S. territories. GAO selected these agencies to represent a range of agency size and mission. GAO conducted site visits to Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico.
Recommendations
GAO is making 12 recommendations, including that selected agencies evaluate their strategies and efforts on hiring, recruitment, and retention to make any needed improvements; and ensure access to live training. FWS, NPS, SSA, and TSA agreed. FEMA agreed with the training recommendation and stated that no further action is needed for two recommendations related to recruitment. GAO maintains that these actions are needed.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Fish and Wildlife Service | The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service should examine the effectiveness of the agency's efforts to communicate information that helps support applicants in the noncontiguous U.S. with the federal hiring process. (Recommendation 1) |
The Department of the Interior, on behalf of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), concurred with this recommendation. FWS described actions they plan to take to address this recommendation. For example, to increase FWS outreach and communication to all applicants, the Joint Administrative Operations (JAO) Division of Human Resources Operations (HR) and the JAO Division of Human Capital will ensure clear guidance on all FWS webpages. Regional staff located in non-contiguous locations will be offered training on the federal hiring process by the end of FY-2025. In April 2025, Interior staff requested an extension to provide its written response to the 180-day report as their responses are impacted by executive orders issued in recent months. Once we receive updated information from the agency and supporting documentation of these efforts, we will update the status of this recommendation accordingly.
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| National Park Service | The Director of the National Park Service should examine the effectiveness of the agency's efforts to communicate information that helps support applicants in the noncontiguous U.S. with the federal hiring process. (Recommendation 2) |
The Department of the Interior, on behalf of the National Park Service (NPS), concurred with this recommendation. NPS described actions they are already taking and plan to take to address this recommendation. For example, virtual biweekly workshops designed to empower applicants with the knowledge needed to build a federal resume. The NPS Recruitment Team shares tips and strategies for navigating the USAJOBS application process, how the federal hiring process works, and why the USAJOBS profile is important. NPS plans to host federal resume workshops in Spanish and will create recruitment materials in Spanish. In April 2025, Interior staff requested an extension to provide its written response to the 180-day report as their responses are impacted by executive orders issued in recent months. Once we receive updated information from the agency and supporting documentation of these efforts, we will update the status of this recommendation accordingly.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency | The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency should evaluate the agency's efforts to obtain and use feedback on hiring, recruitment, and retention practices, including human capital flexibilities, from staff in the noncontiguous U.S. to identify and address opportunities for improvement. (Recommendation 3) |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), did not concur with this recommendation. FEMA explained the current efforts that it takes to obtain and use feedback and stated that these are sufficient, based on the percent of filled positions in the noncontiguous U.S. However, as discussed in the report, multiple officials in the noncontiguous U.S. described the challenges they experience due to their headquarters office not fully understanding their needs. Agency officials in the noncontiguous U.S. stressed they could use more guidance, procedures, or training on the resources available to them. Therefore, we maintain that evaluating its efforts to obtain and use feedback on hiring, recruitment, and retention practices, could help FEMA ensure it is addressing the concerns of those responsible for hiring personnel. In April 2025, DHS provided a status update and stated that FEMA continues to non-concur with this recommendation. FEMA asserted that current efforts to obtain and use feedback on hiring, recruitment, and retention practices are already successful. The agency stated that since October 2024, FEMA OCHCO met with FEMA Regional Offices in the noncontiguous U.S. to discuss concerns about guidance, procedures, and training on resources available to FEMA personnel. Once FEMA provides sufficient and appropriate supporting documentation of that effort, we will update the status of this recommendation. Until then, given the challenges highlighted in our report, we maintain the merit of our recommendation. We will continue to monitor any actions FEMA takes toward implementing this recommendation.
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| United States Fish and Wildlife Service | The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service should evaluate the agency's efforts to obtain and use feedback on hiring, recruitment, and retention practices, including human capital flexibilities, from staff in the noncontiguous U.S. to identify and address opportunities for improvement. (Recommendation 4) |
The Department of the Interior, on behalf of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), concurred with this recommendation. FWS described actions they plan to take to address this recommendation. For example, FWS will conduct focus groups and listening sessions to obtain feedback on hiring, recruitment, and retention efforts. FWS will also use customer surveys to evaluate effectiveness of hiring and recruitment efforts. In April 2025, Interior staff requested an extension to provide its written response to the 180-day report as their responses are impacted by executive orders issued in recent months. Once we receive updated information from the agency and supporting documentation of these efforts, we will update the status of this recommendation accordingly.
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| National Park Service | The Director of the National Park Service should evaluate the agency's efforts to obtain and use feedback on hiring, recruitment, and retention practices, including human capital flexibilities, from staff in the noncontiguous U.S. to identify and address opportunities for improvement. (Recommendation 5) |
The Department of the Interior, on behalf of the National Park Service (NPS), concurred with this recommendation. NPS described actions they plan to take to address this recommendation. For example, NPS will create and implement a survey for all NPS staff to obtain and utilize feedback on recruitment practices from staff on a nationwide level to ensure the agency is utilizing all the best recruitment practices that would be beneficial in the field, to include parks in the non-contiguous U.S. Both surveys will be shared with the Superintendents of each park in the non-contiguous U.S. to share with their staff to obtain the requested feedback. In addition, NPS will create a customer feedback survey to solicit for input regarding NPS's hiring, recruitment, and retention practices while promoting the understanding and use of special hiring flexibilities for non-contiguous U.S. NPS entities. NPS stated that our recommendation has also inspired the NPS to create one survey for all HR specialties to improve feedback methods. In April 2025, Interior staff requested an extension to provide its written response to the 180-day report as their responses are impacted by executive orders issued in recent months. Once we receive updated information from the agency and supporting documentation of these efforts, we will update the status of this recommendation accordingly.
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| Transportation Security Administration | The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration should evaluate the agency's efforts to obtain and use feedback on hiring, recruitment, and retention practices, including human capital flexibilities, from staff in the noncontiguous U.S. to identify and address opportunities for improvement. (Recommendation 6) |
TSA concurred with this recommendation. In December 2024, TSA provided a status update related to this recommendation and described actions the agency had taken to date. Among these actions, staff from TSA Human Capital Recruitment & Field Hiring Operations (HC RFHO) and Human Capital Total Compensation Division met with Federal Security Directors and their staff members from the three non-contiguous U.S. hub airports. TSA provided supporting documentation related to these meetings with TSA-Hawaii, TSA-Alaska, and TSA-Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands which occurred in September 2024, October 2024, and November 2024 respectively. Discussion items during these meetings included recruitment advertising, compensation, and ideas for enhancements to hiring processes and retention, including discussion about housing challenges. Subsequent to these initial feedback calls, TSA stated that the HC RFHO Hiring Coordinators and assigned HR Services contractor Field Leads have been speaking with the airport hiring points-of-contact on a recurring cadence to ensure all hiring related actions are being addressed. Throughout the time period of January 2025 through March 2025, we had ongoing communications with TSA and provided additional clarification about potential supporting documentation needed to corroborate the action steps TSA had described in its status update. For example, in January and February 2025, TSA provided documentation demonstrating regular follow-up and assistance efforts with the non-contiguous locations. This included meeting minutes, email correspondence and status updates regarding Transportation Security Office hiring events and candidate assessment assistance. In March 2025, TSA provided documentation and materials from its Human Capital Community of Practice video conference calls and other recurring human capital trainings and workshops. These various actions and efforts taken together meet the spirit of GAO's recommendation.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency | The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency should evaluate the agency's current recruitment strategies and efforts to identify opportunities to broaden the pool of qualified local candidates in USVI. (Recommendation 7) |
In its comments on our draft report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), did not concur with this recommendation, citing details of recent efforts in Puerto Rico. Given this updated information, we were able to adjust the report to reflect examples of the agency's actions and modified the recommendation to focus on USVI. As discussed in the report, officials in USVI cite difficulties finding local staff with the required technical background or experience. Examining recruitment strategies could help strengthen recruitment, hiring, and retention for positions in USVI. Therefore, we maintain that FEMA should evaluate the agency's current recruitment strategies and efforts in USVI. In April 2025, DHS provided a status update and stated that FEMA continues to non-concur with this recommendation. In addition, FEMA cited information about the percentage of available positions filled and receiving feedback from stakeholders directly involved in hiring in USVI. Once FEMA provides sufficient and appropriate supporting documentation of that effort, we will update the status of this recommendation. Until then, given the challenges highlighted in our report, we maintain the merit of our recommendation. We will continue to monitor any actions FEMA takes toward implementing this recommendation.
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| United States Fish and Wildlife Service | The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service should evaluate the agency's current recruitment strategies and efforts to identify opportunities to broaden the pool of qualified local candidates across all hard-to-fill noncontiguous areas. (Recommendation 8) |
The Department of the Interior, on behalf of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), concurred with this recommendation. FWS described actions they plan to take to address this recommendation. In April 2025, Interior staff requested an extension to provide its written response to the 180-day report as their responses are impacted by executive orders issued in recent months. Once we receive updated information from the agency, we will update the status of this recommendation accordingly.
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| Social Security Administration | The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should evaluate the agency's current recruitment strategies and efforts to identify opportunities to broaden the pool of qualified local candidates across all hard-to-fill noncontiguous areas. (Recommendation 9) |
The Social Security Administration (SSA) concurred with this recommendation. In its September 2024 letter in response to reviewing our draft report, SSA stated it implemented new recruitment strategies, including hosting virtual weekly open house sessions for prospective applicants. In April 2025, SSA provided updated information on the status of its actions. Specifically, SSA stated that it has paused hiring and recruitment strategies in light of recent hiring freezes and funding levels. SSA noted that previously, it held Open Houses weekly through November 19, 2024. They said some Open Houses were held virtually to allow individuals the flexibility to attend across all time zones. The Open Houses provided candidates an opportunity to learn about the application process, explore pay and benefits, understand the agency's mission, and gain resume and interview tips. We will continue to monitor any actions SSA takes to implement this recommendation.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency | The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency should ensure that employees in offices that are outside of the Eastern time zone are able to access live training at a reasonable time, that includes the opportunity to interact with the instructor(s) and peers. (Recommendation 10) |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), concurred with this recommendation. FEMA described actions they are taking in this area. For example, FEMA Region 9 will conduct a survey to identify virtual trainings that employees took outside of normal business hours, and to determine potential training opportunities that employees might have foregone due to barriers related to availability, access, or timing. Once the survey is complete, Region 9 will produce an initial report on unavailable or inaccessible training and any associated resource requirements, such as travel needs to or from the Pacific for training, to the appropriate FEMA headquarters component. In addition, FEMA plans to conduct in-person delivery of several courses in both the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam. In April 2025, DHS provided an update on actions FEMA has taken related to this recommendation. For example, in December 2024, FEMA Region 9 conducted a follow-up survey including a section for employees to provide feedback on accessing training needed to do their jobs well, including inaccessible or unavailable training during normal business hours. FEMA stated that due to a low response rate to the survey, Region 9 leadership directed FEMA Region 9's Employee Services Branch and Training Team to continue to report on unavailable or inaccessible training and any associated resource requirements. FEMA also cited efforts it is taking to address training needs in CNMI and Guam. Once FEMA provides sufficient and appropriate supporting documentation of these actions and efforts, we will update the status of this recommendation accordingly.
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| National Park Service | The Director of the National Park Service should ensure that employees in offices that are outside of the Eastern time zone are able to access live training at a reasonable time, that includes the opportunity to interact with the instructor(s) and peers. (Recommendation 11) |
The Department of the Interior, on behalf of the National Park Service (NPS), concurred with this recommendation. NPS described actions they are taking to address this recommendation. For example, NPS has made leadership development training opportunities accessible at reasonable times for employees in these areas. NPS offers virtual instructor-led training sessions designed to accommodate different time zones, allowing participants to engage interactively with instructors and peers. Additionally, where feasible, NPS Learning & Development provides in-person training opportunities in various locations, as demonstrated by past sessions in Puerto Rico and Maui. In April 2025, Interior staff requested an extension to provide its written response to the 180-day report as their responses are impacted by executive orders issued in recent months. Once we receive updated information from the agency and supporting documentation of these efforts, we will update the status of this recommendation accordingly.
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| Social Security Administration | The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration should ensure that employees in offices that are outside of the Eastern time zone are able to access live training at a reasonable time, that includes the opportunity to interact with the instructor(s) and peers. (Recommendation 12) |
The Social Security Administration (SSA) concurred with this recommendation. In its September 2024 letter in response to reviewing our draft report, SSA stated it will review how to expand live virtual trainings to better include employees in Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Territories. In April 2025, SSA stated that it currently offers virtual live training schedules to employees in Alaska, Hawaii, and American Samoa of the U.S. Pacific territories. In addition, SSA stated that it has shifted full-day and half-day virtual instructor-led trainings to accommodate those employees. According to SSA, its training offerings are also available in weLearn, which is an internal website to allow employees to view training appropriate to their time zone and schedule. Once SSA provides supporting documentation that demonstrates actions to date, we will update the status of this recommendation accordingly.
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