Sequester is fed speak for Now Hiring; government posts 27,000 high-paying job openings

The budget cuts known as sequestration were supposed to wreak havoc, forcing the shrinking of critical workforces including airport security officers and food inspectors. But since sequestration kicked in March 4, the government has posted openings for 4,300 federal job titles to hire some 10,300 people. The median position has a salary topping out at $76,000, and one-fourth of positions pay $113,000 or more, according to an analysis by The Washington Times of federal job listings. Altogether, the jobs will pay up to $792 million per year. Including job postings that have been open since before sequestration, the government is in the market for 27,000 employees who will make up to $1.8 billion a year. The jobs posted since sequestration include 10,195 positions at the Department of Agriculture, 2,800 at the Department of Veterans Affairs and 1,611 the Department of Health and Human Services. They include jobs to provide services to military personnel on bases around the world, including 71 bartenders and 123 waiters. Nearly 200 positions related to Army-run bowling alleys are also open. The Agriculture Department's Forest Service is hiring numerous people at nearly 800 locations, but could not specify how many it would hire in all...more