Saxony-Anhalt extends hiring freeze to 2026 amid rising personnel costs

Austerity meets necessity as the state trims spending but keeps essential services running. How exemptions for teachers and police soften the blow.

, and Administrator

2026 January 2 . 5:05 AM

1 min read

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Saxony-Anhalt saves 376 jobs through hiring freeze - Saxony-Anhalt extends hiring freeze to 2026 amid rising personnel costs

Saxony-Anhalt has indeed extended its hiring freeze through 2026 to cut rising personnel costs. Despite the restrictions, certain key roles have still been filled across public institutions. The move aims to ease financial pressure while maintaining essential services across the state.

The state first introduced a hiring freeze in 2024, saving the equivalent of 376 full-time positions. By late that year, Saxony-Anhalt employed 41,897 full-time equivalents (FTEs). Numbers then dipped slightly to 41,521 by November 2025.

In the first nine months of 2025 alone, new recruits filled 2,157 FTE roles. These hires likely saved the state tens of millions of euros. Police officers, teachers, and trainees remained exempt from the freeze, ensuring critical services stayed unaffected. Yet even with the restrictions, some institutions have created new positions. The Landeszentrum Wald Sachsen-Anhalt added roles such as a controlling clerk in Querfurth and a forestry master in Halberstadt. Other agencies, including the Landesforstbetrieb, Landesbetrieb Bau- und Liegenschaftsmanagement, and Polizeiärztliches Zentrum, also filled select vacancies. The state’s annual personnel costs had previously climbed to €5 billion, pushing officials to extend the freeze into 2026.

The extended hiring freeze will remain in place until at least 2026, targeting further reductions in personnel spending. Exemptions for essential roles like police and teachers will continue, ensuring core public services operate without major disruption. The policy has already delivered savings while allowing limited recruitment where necessary.