Milpitas HR director reports single‑digit vacancy rate, warns recruitment challenges remain

Kelly Parmley, the City of Milpitas human resources director, told the City Council on Feb. 18 that the city is sustaining a single‑digit vacancy rate while continuing efforts to recruit and retain staff.

Parmley told the council the city is authorized for 455 full‑time equivalent positions and that, as of Dec. 31, the city showed 43 vacancies, about 28 of which were “in process.” She said HR hired 35 people in the most recent six‑month period (12 internal promotions and 23 external hires) and a total of 60 people in the previous year, while 29 employees separated during the year, about 17 of those by retirement.

The presentation laid out why the city has been able to keep vacancy rates in the single digits: active recruiting, internal promotions and targeted outreach. Parmley said nearly 50 percent of full‑time employees have been with the city for less than five years; roughly 16 percent of employees live in Milpitas, about 24 percent live elsewhere in Santa Clara County and about 60 percent live outside the county. She said roughly 33 percent of full‑time employees identify as female and about 66 percent identify as non‑white.

Parmley summarized labor‑market research from NeoGov, a government recruiting provider, that shows fewer qualified applicants per government job than…