Gov. David Paterson ordered a “hard” hiring freeze in state government nearly two years ago, declaring that only “absolutely essential” positions be filled.

But state officials hired 51,464 people at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 billion in salaries, plus fringe benefits, since that decree on July 30, 2008.

The hires include sons of elected officials, a close friend of the governor’s and a slew of highly paid political appointees.

Former Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll, for example, makes $155,000 a year in an environmental job the governor created for him. Paterson hired an executive assistant at $178,000 a year, a special assistant at $135,000 a year and a scheduler at $105,000 a year. A man responsible for blogging and tweeting for the Senate was hired by the Democratic majority at $120,000 a year.

Other state agencies hired photography assistants, tree pruners and ski school instructors, often with approval from Paterson’s Division of Budget.

Two summers ago, Paterson announced a “hard” hiring freeze as the nation’s economy soured and the state’s budget gap grew.

“You must rethink your hiring practices,” Paterson told agency heads April 21, 2008, in a memo. “Only job openings absolutely essential to your agency’s operations and protecting the health and safety of New Yorkers are to be filled. Positions that do not fit this criterion must be left vacant.”

In fact, state government employs fewer workers than it did when Paterson became governor. From January 2008 to January 2010, the state work force shrank by 1,855 people, or 0.8 percent, according to the Comptroller’s Office. During roughly that same time, private-sector jobs declined 4 percent statewide.

But the state could’ve cut more. A close look at the new hires shows the state did not take full advantage of the natural exodus of employees.

In a typical year, about 6,000 people retire from the state work force, according to the Department of Civil Service. Several thousand more leave because of resignation, termination or death. In 2008 alone, 9,753 people left state government jobs.

So, it’s likely that the state has had more than 12,000 vacancies since the hiring freeze, yet reduced the payroll by fewer than 2,000 people.

“They haven’t really cut very many people off the payroll,” said Lise Bang-Jensen, senior policy analyst for the Empire Center for Public Policy, a taxpayers’ watchdog group. “It seems they missed an opportunity to reduce the work force further by hiring so many people.”

In his State of the State address Jan. 7, 2009 — six months after the hiring freeze took effect — Paterson again warned that New York was in peril.

“We must sacrifice what we want today so that we can pay for what we need tomorrow,” Paterson said.

And, he said, “Now is our moment for leadership.”

That day, the state hired 51 people, including 20 secretaries and executive assistants. The next day: 1,266 people, mostly at public colleges. The day after: 40 people.

A review of hirings since the freeze shows the public colleges, tax and labor departments and the comptroller hired the most people, while the prison, mental health and developmental disabilities departments — all agencies on the front lines of keeping people safe and healthy — made the largest work force reductions.

To be fair, Paterson has no say in hirings made by the state colleges; the offices of the Legislature, comptroller and attorney general; and a few other state agencies. About 21,000 of the hires were made by the public colleges.

Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook pointed out that Paterson cut 26 workers from his executive office since the freeze took effect, for a savings of $130,000 a year.

Budget spokesman Matt Anderson said jobs at agencies such as the tax department pay for themselves because workers collect revenue. Labor Department salaries and benefits are paid mostly with federal revenue, he said.

“Some of these are seasonal. A lot of these are outside of executive branch control,” Anderson said. “Even during a hiring freeze, there are hires because you have to fill essential positions.”

Anderson categorized essential positions as those protecting public health or safety or those needed to keep agencies running smoothly…

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