Thousands of government jobs sit empty because people literally don't know these careers exist. Gen-Z individuals trust local governments more than any other institution, yet they make up barely 9% of public sector workers
Key insights:
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The awareness crisis — Nearly half of Gen Z workers have never been exposed to local government career opportunities, which means that an entire generation enters adulthood unaware these jobs exist.
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Values alignment paradox — Gen-Z individuals trust local governments more than other institutions, and they strongly align with public service values like making a difference and solving community problems.
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Beyond salary solutions — Some cities are proving that targeted marketing campaigns can be successful; and connecting public sector work to meaningful impact rather than simply raising wages can attract interest.
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San Francisco’s local government has been stretched to its breaking point. Mayor Daniel Lurie signed his first biennial budget this summer, which would eliminate 1,000 positions permanently, potentially resulting in layoffs for 140 employees. The city still grapples with a vacancy rate among its city workers that hit 13.7% two years ago, with more than 4,700 unfilled positions. Residents have experienced delayed emergency responses, understaffed public hospitals, delayed city buses, and other gaps in public services.
State and local governments have sought workforce stability in the five years following the Covid-19 pandemic. Generational retirements, the so-called Great Resignation, a shrinking workforce, low unemployment rates, and heightened work environment expectations have had a dramatic impact over the last five years, leaving many states and public sector organizations trying a myriad of approaches to build and enhance their talent pipeline.
The root cause of our public sector workforce woes may surprise you. A decline in civics education in the classroom means that young people aren’t as exposed to government institutions as they once were. And many enter the workforce wholly unaware of the problems governments can solve or the career paths open to them within it.
Invisible institutions: Bridging the civics gap
Depending on your age, you may recall civics exposure as a mandatory part of your K-12 education. Civics education has been largely absorbed into the social studies curriculum, and the results are damning. Less than of one-quarter (22%) of 8th-grade students in the United States are working at a proficient level in civics. Civics exposure and knowledge have a direct correlation to higher rates of voting and participation in civics activities, but currently, 1-in-6 Americans cannot name a single branch of the federal government.
Now, many states are taking matters into their own hands through legislative action, with states like Massachusetts requiring that all 8th graders take a civics test aligned with a year-long course on citizenship and federal and state government.
For adults already out of the K-12 system, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation piloted a civic knowledge curriculum geared toward employers in 2025. The Civics @ Work program addresses the unfortunate fact that an estimated 70% of Americans could not pass a basic civic literacy test. When civic awareness is low, young people enter adulthood with a limited sense of how government institutions function and what professionals are needed to keep those institutions running reliably.
Interestingly, members of the Gen-Z generation are quickly becoming the largest demographic in the workforce, but they are overwhelmingly not choosing public sector careers. Gen-Z members currently represent 18% of the US population but only comprises 9% of federal employees as of this past spring. A Tufts University study on civic learning and engagement found that while Gen-Z has higher rates of trust in organizations, they appear to be less likely to see themselves working there. And a McKinsey study on attracting Gen-Z talent into public service notes that this demographic is more likely than other generations to be aligned with public service values.
Rebuilding the pipeline through exposure
The city and county of Denver is no stranger to targeted public sector recruitment campaigns. The city and county have partnered with AOR, a Denver-based branding and marketing firm, in 2016 and in 2025 for public sector recruitment marketing efforts. The 2025 police department campaign, for example, targets individuals in the hospitality, security, nursing, education, and coaching industries to consider a career pivot to public safety.
The 2025 city and county-wide campaign launched with AOR, See Yourself Here, highlights career paths that many may be unaware exist within local government. Denver saw increased growth in both awareness, click-through rates on Google and LinkedIn, and an increase in job application rates.
Successful methods in this area could potentially find a wide audience, research shows. Mission Square Research Institute’s recent report on undergraduate attitudes toward careers in public service notes that business, accounting, and finance undergraduate students had the lowest level of awareness around public sector career paths. Exposure to a public sector career path is just the beginning, however, these organizations need to connect to the issues young people care about and demonstrate that a public sector career offers meaningful work and growth opportunities.
Investing in the next generation of public servants
Mission Square’s findings noted that in 2025, undergraduate Gen-Z students are prioritizing salary, work/life balance, personal satisfaction, and job security. Those students who were surveyed perceive government salaries as negative (when compared to the private sector).
How the public sector paints the picture of a career is crucial to success and presents an opportunity for recruitment. Gen-Z, as a demographic, is highly motivated by public service values, and can relate strongly to messaging around making a difference, solving local problems, and delivering real impact. The Minnesota Citizens League report on local government workforce challenges points out that employers should consider loosening restrictive job requirements (such as degrees, years of previous experience, etc.) and instead recruit for mindset and soft skills and invest in the talent development of younger employees.
This doesn’t come without some risk, of course. Job tenure for younger workers averages 2.8 years — less than one-third of the tenure of Baby Boomers and Gen X in the workforce, according to Mission Square.
Civics education as the first step, not the final one
As San Francisco is reconciling, increasing wages can’t always be the final solution. Exposure and education around public sector opportunities are a critical first step to building a workforce pipeline. Legislative approaches taken in recent years at the state level — include for example, Rhode Island requiring student-led civics projects in middle and high schools; and Connecticut forming a task force to study civics education, engagement, and media literacy — can certainly help, because civics education alone is likely insufficient.
Students need a formal introduction, in K-12 and beyond, to public sector opportunities, and these introductions should address the stereotypes that government is inefficient, clarify the non-political role of day-to-day operations, and highlight meaningful work, problem-solving, and personal career satisfaction.
For those governments and local organizations that are already struggling with persistent vacancies and a shrinking workforce, investing in the student pipeline is essential.
You can find out more about the challenges around talent and other issues faced by government agencies and their workers here
