The Federal Workforce: Characteristics and Trends

Understanding the characteristics and trends of the federal workforce is important because, among other things, agencies accomplish their missions via that workforce. Total personnel costs direct compensation and benefits for all current and retired civilian and military federal employees were estimated at nearly 590 billion in 2010. Current non-postal civilian personnel costs in the executive branch alone were estimated at nearly 230 billion. According to Office of Personnel Managements FedScope database, three Cabinet departments--the Departments of Defense DOD, Veterans Affairs DVA, and Homeland Security DHS--accounted for about 60 of the 2.1 million executive branch civilian employees in December 2010. The duty stations for more than 35 of these employees were in four states California, Virginia, Texas, and Maryland and the District of Columbia, and DOD was the top federal employer in most states. DOD also employed more than 90 of federal civilian employees in foreign countries, and was the top federal employer in U.S. territories. The federal workforce grew by more than 350,000 employees between 2000 the low point during the last 12 years and 2010, with the growth concentrated in homeland security-related agencies, DOD, DVA, and the Department of Health and Human Services. Civilian employment in other departments and agencies has declined since 1998 the first year in which FedScope data are available. Legislation has been introduced in the 112th Congress H.R. 657 that attempts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, but the legislation exempts DOD, DVA, and DHS.