Federal Workforce of the Future

Last year, one goal of the new administration was to decrease the size of the Federal workforce. But in 2017, when agency buyouts and staffing cuts were the focus in the news, the total size of the federal workforce didn’t changed much. What do the numbers look like? 

2017 – 2,653,247 full time executive branch employees

2018 – 2,667,447 (expected) full time executive branch employees

What will the future bring? According to OMB, a number of Federal agencies will add staff in 2019. Seven agencies are expected to increase hiring between 2018 and 2019, including the departments of Commerce, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. This is welcome news considering that there are a plethora of vacancies in many agencies, especially at the executive management levels. When federal agencies are getting their feet held to the fire to produce even more results for the American people, it is an impossible victory when there are no bodies to lead the workforce.