In time for the coldest part of the season, the LDS Church initiated a hiring freeze on Dec. 19, 2008, as a result of the worsening economy.

The hiring freeze affects all church employees except student employees at church-owned schools and some auxiliary employees, said BYU spokesperson Carri Jenkins.

According to a statement issued by the church, "In response to the recent economic downturn, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is currently not hiring new employees.

"This temporary action, which has been taken before during previous periods of economic uncertainty, is consistent with the principles of thrift and fiscal responsibility that the church has long encouraged its members to practice."

Jenkins said the hiring freeze does not apply to student employees and some auxiliary employees. Outstanding employment offers as of Dec. 19 will be honored.

Mark McDonald, a freshman from Longview, Texas, studying chemical engineering, said he is looking for a campus job and is glad to know he can still be hired.

"It makes me feel really good, actually," he said. "The way everything else is going, you've got to be lucky to get a job."

No date has been set for lifting the hiring freeze. The last time BYU initiated a hiring freeze was in fall of 2001. Jenkins said the 2001 freeze lasted about six months.

Brian Evans, chief financial officer of BYU Financial Services has asked campus units "to evaluate their needs and, if possible, to forego expenditures that would require endowment liquidations while the market is down."

BYU's endowments have not been immune to recent falls in the stock market, he said in a statement on Financial Service's Web site.

"Because of the generous support of the church, our situation will not be as serious as that which other institutions will face," Evans said. "We will all share the responsibility to continue providing legendary service and value - even with fewer resources."



Copyright Brigham Young University 7 Jan 2009