Federal Workforce at 60-Year Low: What the Numbers Mean
The federal workforce has dropped to its smallest size since the 1960s. Here's the full data on headcount, agency cuts, DRP costs, and what shrinking government means for services.
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Federal Workforce at 60-Year Low: What the Numbers Mean
Last Updated: April 12, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min
The federal civilian workforce is now smaller than at any point since the mid-1960s. That is not a political claim. It is a data point, confirmed by BLS, Pew Research Center, and OPM's own employment tables.
Between September 2024 and early 2026, the executive branch lost a net of roughly 280,000 positions. Departures ran nearly 81% above the prior year's pace. New hiring fell 56%. In raw headcount terms, the federal government today looks more like Lyndon Johnson's administration than Joe Biden's.
Below: what the numbers actually show, which agencies took the hardest hits, what it cost to get here, and what a workforce this size can realistically do.
Key Takeaways
- The federal civilian workforce has fallen to roughly 2.03 to 2.07 million, the lowest headcount since approximately 1966
- 348,219 employees left federal service in 2025, an 80.8% increase from the prior year, while only 116,912 were hired, a 55.6% decline
- The Deferred Resignation Program cost taxpayers an estimated $4.5 billion
- USAID lost 92.4% of its workforce; Education lost 42.6%; USDA lost more than 20,000 employees
- The U.S. population has more than doubled since the 1960s, meaning federal employees per capita are at a historic low
- GAO flagged 20 of 37 high-risk government programs as at risk due to workforce shortfalls
The Numbers: Where We Are Right Now
The most commonly cited figure comes from Pew Research Center's March 2026 analysis of OPM data. The federal workforce shrank by 10.3% in 2025 alone, a net loss of nearly 238,000 workers.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Federal employees, September 2024 | ~2,313,000 |
| Federal employees, January 2026 | ~2,035,000 |
| Net reduction | ~278,000 |
| Departures in 2025 | 348,219 |
| New hires in 2025 | 116,912 |
| Departure increase vs. 2024 | +80.8% |
| Hiring decrease vs. 2024 | -55.6% |
The BLS series, which uses a slightly broader definition, recorded 2,683,000 federal workers in February 2026 and was still falling going into March. Both counts point to the same conclusion: the federal workforce is at levels not seen since the Johnson administration.
How We Got Here: A Timeline of Cuts
The reduction did not happen through a single policy. It built up through overlapping pressures over roughly 14 months.
January 2025: The Trump administration launched the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), giving employees the option to resign with pay through a fixed date. The legal basis was contested from day one, but participation was substantial.
February 2025: Mass terminations of probationary employees began across agencies. Courts later ruled many of these terminations improper and ordered reinstatements.
March to June 2025: Agency-specific reduction targets were set. DOGE worked with agency leadership to identify cuts. RIF notices went out at several agencies. The full-time return-to-office mandate drove additional voluntary departures as employees who had moved or restructured their lives around telework chose to leave instead.
July to December 2025: DRP participants completed their exits. A RIF moratorium in the November 2025 continuing resolution paused some actions but did not reverse anyone who had already left.
January to April 2026: Hiring stayed suppressed. The White House called continued workforce reduction "priority number one." The headcount kept falling.
By early 2026, the cumulative result was a workforce at levels not recorded since the mid-1960s.
Agency-by-Agency Impact
The cuts were not spread evenly. A handful of agencies absorbed the bulk of them.
| Agency | Workforce Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| USAID | -92.4% | Near-total elimination |
| Department of Education | -42.6% | Fewer than 2,500 employees remain from roughly 4,300 |
| IRS | -25% | Watchdog warned of 2026 filing season impacts |
| USDA | -20,000+ | IG report documented losses through June 2025 |
| HHS | -19,000 | Includes CDC, NIH, and operating divisions |
| VA | -17,000+ (announced goal: 30,000) | Among largest raw-number reductions |
| EPA | Targeted 65% reduction | Approximately 11,000 positions |
| GSA | Headquarters staff cut 79% | Operational capacity significantly reduced |
| DOD civilian | Up to 8% reduction | Roughly 61,000 positions affected |
For employees still at agencies that absorbed major cuts, the reality is straightforward. Fewer people, same workload, means longer processing times, slower responses, and in some cases, programs that simply stop running.
The DRP Cost: $4.5 Billion Paid for Not Working
The DRP was the largest single driver of voluntary departures. Federal News Network put the total cost at approximately $4.5 billion.
Roughly 137,000 to 154,000 employees participated. The payout varied by when employees accepted:
- About 86,000 received roughly 8.7 weeks of pay while not working
- Another 34,000 received approximately 17.4 weeks
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations calculated that DRP pay to non-working employees was the largest piece of $21.7 billion in identifiable workforce-reduction waste, with DRP accounting for $14.8 billion of that total. The remaining $6.9 billion came from extended administrative leave and involuntary separation costs.
Two data points that put the contractor angle in perspective: the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights alone cost $28.5 million to $38 million in salaries paid to staff who were not working, from March through December 2025, per GAO documentation. And when agencies replaced departed workers with contractors, they paid an average of 1.83 times the federal employee compensation rate, per POGO research. At DoD, that ratio runs close to 3 times.
Federal Employees Per Capita: The Context No One Talks About
Raw headcount comparisons to the 1960s are useful but miss something important. The U.S. in 1966 had about 196 million people. Today it has roughly 335 million, more than 70% more.
The more informative number is federal employees per capita.
| Era | U.S. Population | Federal Civilian Employees | Per 1,000 Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 (WWII peak) | ~139M | ~3.8M | ~27 |
| 1968 (LBJ peak) | ~200M | ~2.98M | ~15 |
| 1990 | ~250M | ~3.1M | ~12 |
| 2016 | ~325M | ~2.8M | ~8.6 |
| 2024 (pre-cuts) | ~335M | ~2.3M | ~6.9 |
| 2026 (current) | ~337M | ~2.03M | ~6.0 |
The federal workforce peaked at 7.5% of the total U.S. workforce in November 1944. By 2025, before the current cuts, it had already fallen to about 1.8%. The 2026 reductions push that ratio lower.
The per-capita frame matters because government workload does not shrink when the headcount does. Tax returns filed, veterans served, food safety inspections, disaster assistance: these are driven by population size, not by how many people OPM has on the rolls.
What This Means for Services: The GAO Warning
GAO's most recent high-risk list flagged human capital shortfalls as a concern in 20 of its 37 designated high-risk programs. The services GAO called out as threatened:
- Federal disaster assistance
- Public health emergency response
- Federal prison system management
- IRS tax law enforcement
- Social Security disability programs
- VA health care
At the IRS, the agency's own watchdog warned that a 25% workforce reduction will produce problems during the 2026 filing season: longer processing times, fewer audits, more errors slipping through.
At SSA, a smaller workforce is now handling more disability claims from a growing retiree population. The disability claims backlog was already a GAO high-risk item before the current cuts.
Federal News Network reported in March 2026 that agencies are exploring combinations of new hiring and AI tools to rebuild capacity. That may help at the margins. But institutional knowledge, specifically the kind held by a 20-year employee who knows how to navigate agency systems, does not transfer to software.
What Federal Employees Should Do Now
Whether you are still working or recently separated, a few things are worth knowing.
If your agency absorbed significant cuts, your RIF retention standing matters more than ever. Understand where you fall in the competitive area before any additional reduction actions. The RIF Survival Guide 2026 covers retention standing, bump and retreat rights, and how performance ratings interact with seniority under the proposed new scoring system.
If you accepted the DRP or took a buyout, the FERS Retirement Calculator can help you model your annuity at different retirement dates, including how a gap in service affects your High-3 calculation and pension multiplier.
If you were involuntarily separated, you may be entitled to severance pay. The formula depends on your years of service and salary, and it pays out differently depending on whether you are entitled to an immediate retirement annuity.
Calculate Your Severance Pay
If a RIF or involuntary separation is possible at your agency, know your number before it happens. Federal severance is calculated based on your base salary and years of creditable service, with adjustments for age.
Use the Severance Pay Calculator to estimate what you would receive. It takes about two minutes and covers both standard and enhanced severance scenarios.
Frequently Asked Questions
How small is the federal workforce right now?
As of early 2026, the federal civilian workforce stands at roughly 2.03 to 2.07 million employees, the lowest level since the mid-1960s. The BLS recorded 2,683,000 federal employees as of February 2026 using a broader count that includes postal workers and certain other categories, but the core executive branch civilian count tracked by OPM is closer to 2 million.
How many federal employees were there in the 1960s?
The executive branch civilian workforce peaked at approximately 2.98 million in 1968, driven by Vietnam War mobilization and Great Society programs. Today's workforce is roughly 32% smaller than that peak, even though the U.S. population has more than doubled since then.
Which agencies lost the most employees to DOGE cuts?
USAID was nearly eliminated, losing 92.4% of its workforce. The Department of Education shrank 42.6%. HHS lost roughly 19,000 employees, USDA lost more than 20,000, and the IRS cut about 25% of its workforce. The VA announced a goal of cutting 30,000 employees by September 2025.
How much did the Deferred Resignation Program cost taxpayers?
An estimated $4.5 billion was paid to federal employees who accepted the Deferred Resignation Program, according to Federal News Network analysis. Roughly 137,000 to 154,000 employees participated, receiving pay while not working for periods ranging from about 8 to 17 weeks.
What does a smaller federal workforce mean for government services?
GAO flagged human capital shortfalls as a top concern, warning that 20 of its 37 high-risk government programs face risks because agencies lack enough employees with the right skills. Specific service impacts include longer IRS processing times, slower Social Security disability decisions, and degraded capacity for disaster response and public health emergencies.
Are federal employees per capita at a historic low?
Yes. The federal workforce as a share of the total U.S. workforce peaked at 7.5% in November 1944. By 2025 it was about 1.8%. On a per-capita basis, the U.S. now has far fewer federal employees per 1,000 residents than at any point since the early postwar era, and the current cuts push that ratio even lower.
Related Resources
- Severance Pay Calculator: Estimate your federal severance based on salary and years of service
- FERS Retirement Calculator: Model your pension at different retirement dates and scenarios
- RIF Survival Guide 2026: Complete guide to retention standing, bump and retreat rights, and severance
- Federal Agencies Re-Hiring After DOGE Cuts: Which agencies brought workers back and what it cost
- DOGE Contract Cuts: Costs Exceeded Actual Savings: Verified savings versus claimed savings
- 2026 Federal Workforce Outlook: RIFs, pay, and what to prepare for
Sources
- Pew Research Center: Federal workforce shrank 10% in Trump's first year back in office
- Federal News Network: The government paid $4.5 billion to feds who took the DRP
- Federal News Network: How staffing cuts in 2025 transformed the federal workforce
- GAO: Federal Agency Workforce Changes: Update for January to June 2025
- CBPP: Administration's Radical Personnel Cuts Bypassed Congress and Lacked Transparency
- OPM: Executive Branch Civilian Employment Since 1940
- FRED/BLS: All Employees, Federal (CES9091000001)
- Washington Times: Federal workforce numbers under Trump at lowest levels since 1960s
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