Uncle Sam wants you, but in a housing role instead of a military uniform.

After years of slowed hiring and budget freezes, the Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to add 1,000 positions across the country. HUD has about 8,000 federal employees right now.

“It’s a very exciting time, “said Jerry Brown, HUD spokesperson. “HUD hasn’t had a hiring surge like this in anytime I can remember.”



President Obama with new HUD Secretary Julian Castro. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

HUD has already filled about 480 of those positions, but the agency plans to hire about 600 more employees. Money for the new employees comes from the agency’s 2014 budget and savings from positions that went unfilled for an extended period, according to HUD.

The administration’s 2014 budget proposal included a request for the uptick at HUD, which has not hired since sequestration began in March 2013, according to Brown. “There is some real backlog,” he said.

President Obama has said he wants the federal government to serve as a model for employing veterans and people with disabilities, so HUD is reaching out to both groups, along with Peace Corps graduates and participants in the Presidential Management Fellows program, to find applicants.

“We want lawyers, engineers, and financial analysts,” Brown said. “But what it’s really about is being a part of putting a roof over someone’s head.”

USA.Jobs is the best place to look at what’s open, he said.