A new jobs program that would put welfare recipients on the government payroll is purely “hypothetical” because the cash-strapped city has a hiring freeze in place, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.
“At the moment, the city has a hiring freeze on, and given the outlook for our budget in ’06, we’ll have a hiring freeze on for a good length of time,” he predicted.
Last week, Human Resources Commissioner Verna Eggleston unveiled a plan to allow welfare recipients to apply for entry-level jobs at all city agencies.
Currently, only the Parks Department accepts welfare applicants.
Although the city doesn’t expect to lift the hiring freeze any time soon, Bloomberg said Eggleston’s plan is a good idea.
“She’s trying to find a ways to get people off of welfare, [to] get them jobs so that they can be self-supporting and we’re going to do that,” he said.
Bloomberg also insisted that welfare recipients would not be given special treatment for the positions and the city will hire the best people for the jobs.