Massachusetts Gov. Healey plans to freeze state hiring in response to 'widespread economic uncertainty'

Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald on May 14, 2025

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BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey said she plans to freeze hiring across executive branch agencies and departments later this month in response to “widespread economic uncertainty” at the national level and a “tightening budget outlook” for the next fiscal year.

Healey’s decision to restrict most state hiring starting May 27 came as she warned of “further anticipated federal funding cuts” by President Donald Trump and as Beacon Hill Democrats are already grappling with the effects of withheld cash on the fiscal year 2026 state budget.

The first-term Democrat from Arlington argued a hiring freeze — her second in as many years — would protect taxpayer dollars and ensure state officials can “continue to invest in essential services and safety net programs for people and families.”

“Tariffs and funding cuts from Washington are causing so much economic damage and instability. We are taking this step to prepare for more uncertain economic times, protect taxpayer dollars, and move our state forward while ensuring funding will be available for the vital services people need,” Healey said in a statement Wednesday morning.

Healey said the hiring freeze that is set to take effect in less than two weeks will not include a “formal waiver process,” though exemptions will be made for public safety officers and direct care providers.

A spokesperson for Healey’s budget-writing office did not immediately say how many positions would be affected by the hiring freeze and how much money the administration expects to save.

Healey announced the pause on state hiring more than a week after her budget writing department said April tax collections — one of the weightiest months of the fiscal year for state revenues — beat projections by more than $1 billion.

But officials attributed much of the excess haul to revenue generated by a surtax on incomes over $1 million and the capital gains tax — two sources of cash that cannot be used to balance the state’s budget.

Other major tax categories that better reflect economic conditions came in at or below monthly projections in April, the Healey administration said.

The Trump administration has cut $350 million in direct funding to state agencies, including dollars that were earmarked for public health workers, substance use disorder treatment, increased internet access, school mental health services, and disaster prevention aid, according to Healey.

President Donald Trump has also delayed “hundreds of millions of dollars in funding distributions” for public health programs and canceled food shipments to local food banks, the Healey administration said.

The state receives nearly $23 billion in federal funding each year, including $16.1 billion for the annual operating budget, $5.3 billion in grants to state agencies, and $1.5 billion in grants for capital projects, the governor said.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services has seen $118 million in federal funding cut, the most of any secretariat, according to a dashboard the Healey administration released Wednesday. The Executive Office of Education lost $106 million, the dashboard showed.

Congressional Republicans are also advancing a megabill of tax reforms and spending cuts that could see lawmakers slash federal spending on Medicaid, a scenario one Massachusetts Senate budget writer warned could leave a massive hole in the state budget.

Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz said a hiring freeze this year will give officials “added flexibility in the budget to respond and react to unforeseen program needs and other deficiencies that may arise.”

“Our uncertain economic future in fiscal year 2026 has been made less predictable by the threat of federal funding cuts and recent market upheaval. While we hope for the best, it is both prudent and responsible to be prepared and take control of what we can now,” Gorzkowicz said in a statement.

The governor said her administration will reevaluate the “effectiveness and need for ongoing hiring controls” once the fiscal year 2026 budget is signed into law. Lawmakers have routinely blown past a July 1 deadline to have a full spending plan in place for the next 12 months.

Healey and other past governors have regularly inked their names to state budgets in mid- to late-July, or weeks after the spending package should have been in place.

The hiring freeze announced Wednesday is the second Healey has put in place over the last two years.

Dismal state revenues led the governor last year to largely restrict hiring across agencies and departments she controls. But that “pause” allowed officials to bring on new hires so long as they received sign-off from her budget office.

The restrictions were lifted in November, and state agencies were allowed to resume hiring so long as they had sufficient funding in their budgets. The Healey administration said they saved about $21 million from April through Nov. 1, 2024.

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