Bilingual Staffing
Departments also share information about their bilingual employees in the compliance reporting process . The reporting tool distinguishes between bilingual employees and certified bilingual employees who have passed a language proficiency test . This test may be administered by the Department of Human Resources ( DHR ). The total number of bilingual public contact employees includes those who are certified as well as those who are self-identified as fluent in a language other than English . It is important to remember that these are estimates of public contact staff and may not represent the full employee headcount of City departments .
Total Bilingual Staff
The number of bilingual staff members has stabilized from the decline during the FY 2018- 2019 time period ; however , bilingual staffing in City departments is still below the fiveyear average ( FY 2018-2022 ). In FY 2022-2023 , City departments reported 2,638 bilingual employees , which is a 5.75 % decline from the previous fiscal year measure of 2,799 bilingual employees . Both figures fall below the five-year average of 3,294 employees . City departments reported 2,191 bilingual City employees who have been certified by DHR , a 7.03 % increase from the previous fiscal year ’ s estimate of 2,047 and close to the five-year average of 2,395 employees . Based on these estimates , the gap between bilingual and certified bilingual City department employees is narrowing .
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