CRS Report via LC – Federal Workforce Statistics Sources: OPM and OMB, Updated October 24, 2019 – “According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal workforce is composed of an estimated 2.1 million civilian workers,1 and several federal agencies collect, compile, and publish statistics about this workforce. Sources may vary in their totals due to differences in how federal workforce statistics are compiled. Some sources rely on “head counts” of employees (OPM), some on total hours worked (such as the Office of Management and Budget [OMB]), some on surveys of employing agencies, and others on self-identification by workers surveyed in their homes. In addition, federal civilian employee databases may exclude particular departments, agencies, or branches of government. Some may also account for temporary or seasonal employees (such as those employed by the U.S. Census) depending on the time of year the statistics are generated. This report focuses on differences in methodologies, including exclusions, and the frequency of data collection employed by OMB and OPM to determine the size and scope of the federal workforce. These differences will facilitate the selection of appropriate data for specific purposes….”