Pew Research Center – “President-elect Donald Trump has focused much attention on shrinking the size and scope of the federal government for his second administration. Most notably, Trump has appointed tech mogul Elon Musk and GOP-primary-rival-turned-ally Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an advisory task force dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency.” Musk and Ramaswamy have said they aim to cut trillions of dollars from the federal budget, abolish or consolidate hundreds of federal agencies, and slash the federal payroll by as much as 75%. As Trump returns to the White House, here are answers to some common questions about the federal workforce, based on data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – the federal government’s human resources department – and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Unless otherwise stated, all figures in this analysis are as of March 2024.

• How many federal workers are there?
• How has the number of federal workers changed over time?
• Which federal departments and agencies employ the most people?
• Are most federal workers in the Washington, D.C., area?
• How do federal workers compare demographically with American workers as a whole?
• What kinds of work do federal employees do?
• How much do federal workers earn?
• What does job tenure look like among federal workers?
• Do all federal workers have civil service protections?
• How do Americans feel about federal workers?