HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County’s job vacancy rate has dropped to about 15% from an average of about 17%, due to aggressive hiring and increased retention.

Human resources analyst Kyle Brashear said during the county’s salary board meeting Wednesday morning that “inclusive of department heads and elected officials, the vacancy rate is down to 14.6 percent.”

“If we exclude elected officials and department heads from the vacancy rate, as we would do during (Finance Director Lindsay Dempsie’s) wonderful budget calculations, we’re almost exactly knock on at 15 percent,” Brashear said.

When asked by Commissioner David Kessling about the factors that led to the reduced vacancy rate, Brashear said a “significant chunk” of the percentage drop “could be more than likely attributable to an improved retention at the prison.”

“As far as I can tell, from the data available to me, (Prison Warden Matthew Hale) has caused a significant reduction in attrition compared to this time last year,” Brashear said.

Kessling said he was happy to see the swing in the positive direction.

“We’ll keep the percentage coming down,” Kessling said.

In late October 2023, Dempsie reported the county’s job vacancy rate as 20%, while former Human Resources Director Katherine Swigart stated in February 2024 that the county had about 100 job vacancies it was struggling to fill.

Hale was hired as Blair County Prison warden in October 2025 following a monthslong search that began with the resignation of former Warden Abbie Tate in June 2025.

A request for comment from Hale regarding the prison’s increased retention was not returned.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.