Anyone else seeing a pause in external hiring?

Been trying to backfill a couple of critical roles in my team for a while now, and it feels like we've hit a wall. HR keeps saying 'candidate pipeline issues' or 'budget reallocation,' but it’s been going on for months. We used to be able to get approvals fairly quickly, but now it’s like pulling teeth. We're already stretched thin, and not being able to bring in new talent is making things even tougher. It feels like a de facto hiring freeze, even if nothing's been officially declared. Has anyone else experienced this slowdown in getting new hires on board, especially in technical or specialized areas? Wondering if this is company-wide or just specific to certain divisions.