(FORTUNE Magazine) – It's called the Empty Desk syndrome, and it hits Washington every four or eight years: A new President blows into town and takes his time making top- level appointments. The latest instance is worse than usual, however, and is taking its toll on businesses trying to get things done. Aerospace execs gripe that Department of Defense brass were not onboard to help pitch U.S. planes at the Paris Air Show this year because key decision- makers had not been confirmed. High-tech types complain that unfilled Commerce Department posts have delayed an important review of U.S. export controls. And Clinton only recently nominated Reed Hundt to become chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, which is swamped with regulatory issues from cable TV to the information superhighway. A fifth seat on the commission remains vacant. As of June 25, Clinton had nominated, and Congress had confirmed, fewer people than either Ronald Reagan or Jimmy Carter had at the same point in their presidencies (see chart). George Bush made fewer nominations by this time in his presidency, but because he retained many Reagan Administration appointees, he did not cause many disrupting vacancies. While agencies such as Treasury are almost fully staffed, the top floors of others resemble see-through office buildings. Among the worst: the aforementioned Commerce and Defense departments, plus Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency. The current problem is not entirely Clinton's fault. Tougher ethics and financial disclosure requirements have lengthened the clearance process. Says Mark Abramson, president of the Council for Excellence in Government: ''Each Administration keeps adding more and more complexity to the process of making appointments.'' But Clinton gets a bigger share of blame than most. Unlike President Reagan, he postponed much of his personnel search until after the election. Then he indulged in micromanagement, even interviewing many sub-Cabinet appointees. Also complicating the process: Clinton's insistence on fostering greater diversity -- i.e., more women and minorities; strict new requirements preventing appointees from lobbying for five years after leaving government; and maybe a bit of gun-shyness on the part of political appointees after the Zoe Baird fiasco. Laments Abramson: ''All the public scrutiny is very intimidating.''

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CREDIT: FORTUNE TABLE/SOURCE: JAMES PFIFFNER, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY / CAPTION: THE APPOINTMENT GAP