Six months into a contract-to-hire role and nobody will tell me if the hire part is actually happening

Took a contract-to-hire offer thinking six months would be enough time to know where I stand. Instead I'm getting good feedback in reviews but zero clarity on headcount or timeline from my manager, who says it's 'above their level' every time I ask. Still applying elsewhere just in case, but it feels bad hedging against a job I'm actually doing well at. Anyone gotten a straight answer out of one of these arrangements, or does it just resolve itself eventually?