Council hears AB 2561 hearing on vacancies; HR director reports citywide vacancy rate under 10%

Under Assembly Bill 2561, the City of San Jose held a required public hearing March 25 to review vacancies, recruitment and retention. Human Resources Director Aram Kyung Jan told council the citywide vacancy rate was 9.95% as of Dec. 31, 2024 and had fallen to about 9.42% at the time of the meeting.

HR described a multi‑pronged recruitment campaign — targeted hiring goals, expanded digital and in‑person recruitment, partnerships with colleges and trade groups and specific classification adjustments — as drivers of the improvement. Director Kyung Jan highlighted pay increases negotiated in recent contracts and targeted salary adjustments for more than 50 classifications.

Why it matters: a sustainable government workforce affects service delivery across public safety, housing, parks and public works. Union representatives told council that turnover and understaffing remain significant problems in several classifications — notably firefighting, electricians and seasonal roles — and urged more investment in total compensation and retention programs.

Union leaders asked for regular, transparent metrics and a public vacancies dashboard; the council accepted the staff report unanimously (Councilmember Cohen absent) and directed continued work on recruitment pipelines, mentoring and retention strategies.

What’s next: HR said it will continue to broaden recruitment, update classification specifications, deploy a new learning management system and work with departments on succession and apprenticeship programs; unions requested more frequent public metrics and a deeper total‑compensation benchmarking study.