The federal hiring freeze initiated by President Trump is impacting job seekers across the country. The Trump administration has prioritized streamlining the federal government and reducing bureaucracy.
One of their first big moves was an immediate hiring freeze.
The Trump administration's hiring freeze meant no new federal jobs and no filling open positions — except in a few areas like national security.
According to a White House memo, this freeze was meant to encourage the "efficient use of existing personnel and funds to improve public services."
Travis Ruddle, a BYU Marriott School of Business assistant professor, said the freeze aligns with the Trump administration's goals, but that its scale took many by surprise.
"It wasn't alarming the sense that anything is happening. It's the extent to which it's happened," Ruddle said.
The impacts of the freeze go beyond government — it's hitting the economy too.
A recent University of Michigan survey found that concerns about unemployment rose in January, with 47% of consumers expecting job losses in the year ahead.
"That's the highest since 2009, the highest since the great recession,” Ruddle said. “Even going through COVID, those concerns are just different now."
Students are feeling the impacts of the freeze here at BYU.
Shannon Grandy Larsen, BYU’s J. Rueben Clark Law School dean of career development, said students she works with felt more than just disappointment when they heard the news.
"Disappointing isn't even a strong enough word, probably a little bit like a gut punch,” Larsen said. “To have thought that you had something and then to realize that it was no longer there."
It’s not just graduate students; undergrads are getting hit as well.
Brennan Franckowiak, a student stying cybersecurity, had planned to return to his internship with the Department of Defense this summer.
"I recognized that something might change, so I applied to other places,” Franckowiak said. “I think that was really important for me."
Thanks to his foresight, Franckowiak had a backup plan, but not everyone was so fortunate.
The White House memo states the freeze will last until late April.