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Workforce Changes
Examine workforce changes, including accessions, separations, and key personnel actions
How has the size of the federal workforce changed over time?
The size of the federal workforce has generally expanded over time. This is changing. As a result of the administration’s workforce reshaping initiatives, including a hiring freeze, early retirement incentives, reductions in force, and the Deferred Resignation Program, the workforce shrunk considerably in 2025.
The change in the workforce is measured here as the difference between accessions (new hires to government) and separations (individuals separating from federal service). A negative total means more individuals have left government than joined. A positive total means more individuals have joined government than left.
Federal workforce changes over time
Department
Agency
Subagency
Personnel action date (fiscal year)
Which agencies have seen the largest changes?
Since FY 2015, the size of the federal workforce has shifted unevenly across agencies, reflecting changing priorities and missions. The Department of Veterans Affairs has seen the largest overall growth during that time period while agencies like the Social Security Administration, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Health and Human Services have seen net decreases. All agencies saw a net decrease with the workforce reductions in FY 2025.
Federal workforce changes by agency
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Department
Agency
Subagency
Personnel action date (fiscal year)
Which personnel actions are leading to changes in the size of the federal workforce?
Personnel actions are the official records of changes in a federal employee’s status, such as hiring, promotion, reassignment, resignation, retirement, or termination and are documented using Standard Form 50 (SF-50). Personnel actions are grouped into accessions (individuals entering federal service) and separations (individuals leaving federal service).
The Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) was introduced in 2025 as a new separation option for federal employees. Through the DRP, individuals agreed to separate from federal service by September 30, 2025 (or up to December 31, 2025 if retirement eligible) while receiving full pay and benefits during a period of paid administrative leave.
Additional DRP actions are expected to be processed over time as agency-specific DRPs are fully processed.
Separations and accessions since January 20, 2025
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Department
Agency
Subagency
Occupational series
Separation actions (6)
Accession actions
Separations and accessions over time
Department
Agency
Subagency
Personnel action type
Personnel action
Personnel action date (fiscal year)
