CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

CONGRESSIONALBUDGET OFFICE

A

P A P E R

CBO

MAY 2001

Changes in

Federal Civilian

Employment:

An Update

CHANGES IN FEDERAL CIVILIAN

 EMPLOYMENT: AN UPDATE

May 2001
NOTES

Numbers in the text and tables may not add up to totals because of rounding.

Unless otherwise indicated, all years referred to in this paper are fiscal years.
PREFACE

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report is the latest in a series on trends in

federal employment, updating information from earlier documents. It responds to

inquiries from the Congress about changes in federal employment. 

R. Mark Musell of CBO’s Microeconomic and Financial Studies Division

prepared the analysis under the supervision of Roger Hitchner and Marvin Phaup.

Staff at the Office of Personnel Management and the Bureau of Labor Statistics

provided data. 

Christine Bogusz edited the paper, and John Skeen proofread it. Rae Wiseman

prepared the paper for final publication with help from Kathryn Quattrone, and Lenny

Skutnik produced the printed copies. Annette Kalicki prepared the electronic

versions for CBO’s Web site (www.cbo.gov).

Dan L. Crippen

Director

May 2001

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1

Changes in Civilian Employment by Branch of 

Government and Agency 1

Changes in Full-Time Civilian Employment

by Geographic Area 7

Other Trends in Federal Employment 7

APPENDIX: THE FEDERAL CIVILIAN WORKFORCE 15

TABLES

1. Changes in Federal Civilian Employment by Branch,

1985-2000 2

2. Changes in Federal Civilian Employment by Region 

and State, 1985-1999 8

3. Occupational Distribution and Educational Attainment

of Federal Workers, 1985 and 2000 13

A-1. Number of Federal Civilian Workers, Fiscal Years

1985-2000 16

FIGURES

1. Defense and Non-Defense Federal Civilian Employment,

1985-2000 5

2. Age Distribution of Federal Civilian Employees,

1985 and 2000 11

BOX

1. Counting Federal Employees 3

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

From 1985 through 2000, the period covered in this analysis, the federal government

experienced a net decrease of about 430,000 civilian workers, or 19 percent—the

total fell from 2.3 million workers to 1.8 million. Those figures exclude the 170,000

temporary employees hired for the 2000 decennial census. However, even when

those employees are taken into account, data still show a decrease in employment

over the 15-year period of about 260,000, or 11 percent of the workforce. (See

Table 1 on the next page and Table A-1 on page 16; also see Box 1 for a discussion

of measuring the size of the federal workforce.) Although the number of employees

at most agencies fell over the period, by far the largest decreases occurred at the

Department of Defense (DoD).

The budget submitted by President Bush for 2002 projects fairly steady federal

employment overall. Within that framework, however, the President’s budget

emphasizes streamlining programs, reducing layers of management, and making

federal employees and services more accessible to citizens.

CHANGES IN CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT BY BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT

AND AGENCY

Civilian employment in the legislative and executive branches remained fairly stable

throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s (notwithstanding the temporary jump in
1. The increase in employment for justice-related activities has been accompanied by an increase in spending.

For a discussion, see Congressional Budget Office, Trends in Federal Spending for the Administration of

Justice, CBO Memorandum (August 1996).

2

TABLE 1. CHANGES IN FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT BY BRANCH,

1985-2000 (In thousands of workers)

Branch 1985 2000

Change, 

1985-2000

Percentage Change,

1985-2000

Legislative 39 31 -9 -22

Judicial 18 32 14 82

Executive 2,211 1,947 -264 -12

Total 2,268 2,009 -258 -11

Defense 1,080 681 -399 -37

Non-Defensea 1,187 1,328 141 12

SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office using data from the Office of Personnel Management.

NOTE: Numbers are averages of monthly employment counts. Data cover all branches of the federal government, work

schedules, and geographic areas but do not include the U.S. Postal Service.

a. The increase in employment at non-Defense agencies is all attributable to temporary hires for the decennial census.

Excluding those workers, employment at non-Defense agencies fell by about 30,000 over the 15-year period.

executive branch employment for the decennial census in 1990) and declined

thereafter (see Table 1). Of the three branches of government, only the judicial

branch experienced an increase in employment over the 1985-2000 period. In fact,

increases in employment among those parts of government involved in the

administration of justice make up the most significant exception to an otherwise

general decline in federal employment.1
3

BOX 1.

COUNTING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

Unless otherwise indicated, this analysis focuses on federal civilian employees—that is,

workers outside the uniformed military services. (In 2000, uniformed personnel numbered

about 1.4 million.) In addition, it emphasizes employees covered by payrolls directly

managed by the federal government. For example, it does not take into account workers who

support federal activities under contracts, grants, and mandates. According to a 1999 study

by Paul Light of the Brookings Institution, those employees totaled about 13 million in 1996

and, like the employees covered in this report, declined in number over the period studied.1

Also, this report provides information on the U.S. Postal Service but does not include it in

most totals. (Postal employees are covered by a pay system that is separate from the rest of

the government and funded by revenue from the sale of stamps rather than taxes.) Federal

civilian workers, together with postal, military, grant, mandate, and contract employees,

totaled roughly 17 million in 1996 according to Light’s study.

Counting the number of employees on payrolls under direct federal management is

a means of assessing federal efforts to streamline operations, control costs, improve

efficiency, and reduce government bureaucracy. Those efforts include federal initiatives

to substitute contract employees for civil servants and to control and restructure the

workforce under the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-226).

The reports and databases from which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

derived information about the federal civilian workforce for this analysis vary in their

coverage. Some sources, for example, cover only employees working a full-time schedule.

Many workforce statistics do not include information on the Central Intelligence Agency and

other intelligence-gathering agencies. 

Methods of adding up employees also vary from source to source. None of the

different approaches is ideal, but CBO believes all fairly represent federal workforce totals

and trends. One approach used by the government is simply to count the employees on

board at any given time. That approach presents problems, however, because it treats fulland part-time workers in the same way and fails to account for seasonal fluctuations in

employment. A variant of that approach is to average periodic on-board counts over a year.

That approach helps adjust for seasonal variations in employment but still treats full- and

part-time employees in the same way.

A third approach used by the government is to count annual employment on a fulltime-equivalent (FTE) basis. Under that approach, one full-time employee or two half-time

employees both count as one FTE. That method adjusts for seasonal fluctuations and for

differences in work schedules. On the downside, FTE reporting is limited to the executive

branch. Also, the government has from time to time changed the jobs covered by FTE totals,

leading to some discontinuities in the data.

The notes to text and tables throughout this analysis contain information on both the

coverage of data in the various analyses and the method used to count employees.

1. Paul C. Light, The True Size of Government (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1999).
4

Department of Defense

Civilian employees at DoD support U.S. defense capabilities. Reductions in the

number of those workers account for most of the downward employment trend for

government (see Figure 1). Employment at DoD started to fall in the late 1980s and

has continued to slide since then. Most of those reductions in workforce reflect the

changes in national security requirements that took place after the dissolution of the

Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Those changes have led to reduced

budgets, smaller military forces, and, consequently, less need for civilian personnel

to support defense activities. Overall, employment at DoD fell by 399,000, or 37

percent, over the 1985-2000 period. 

Civilian Agencies

Taken as a whole, employment among civilian agencies was higher—by about

140,000 people—in 2000 than in 1985. (All agencies other than the Department of

Defense are designated as civilian agencies in this report.) That increase, however,

is all attributable to the Commerce Department’s temporary hires for the 2000

census. If those temporary workers are excluded, employment among civilian

agencies actually dropped—by 30,000, or about 2.5 percent.
5

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

1,100

1,200

1,300

1,400

Thousands of Employees

Non-Department of Defense (and non-Postal Service)

Department of Defense

FIGURE 1. DEFENSE AND NON-DEFENSE FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT,

1985-2000

SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office using data from the Office of Personnel Management.

NOTE: Totals are averages of monthly employment counts. Data cover all branches of government, but not the U.S. Postal

Service. All work schedules and geographic areas are represented. The jump in non-Defense employment in 1990

and 2000 is attributable to temporary hiring for the decennial census.

Within the overall change, trends among civilian agencies varied. Some

agencies employed more people in 2000 than they did in 1985, and some employed

fewer. For civilian agencies in which employment was lower in 2000 than in 1985,

decreases in staff generally started in the early 1990s but did not reach the magnitude

of the cuts at DoD. However, there are exceptions. For example, employment at the

Office of Personnel Management fell by 45 percent over the 1985-2000 period,

exceeding even the percentage reduction at DoD. Among the government’s larger

civilian agencies, the number of workers decreased significantly at the General

Services Administration (GSA), falling by 13,500, or 49 percent; at the Department
6

of Agriculture, falling by 15,500, or 13 percent; and at the Department of Veterans

Affairs, falling by 26,300, or 11 percent. 

In contrast with reductions at DoD, drops in civilian agency employment

have had less to do with decreases in workload and more to do with tight budgets and

efforts to improve program management. The decline in employment at the

Department of Health and Human Services, for example, can be traced to budgetary

constraints and efforts to computerize aspects of the Social Security program. The

drop at GSA partly reflects the transfer of some functions to other agencies. A shift

in activities from government agencies to private contractors also likely contributed

to some decreases in employment at civilian agencies. 

The only major agency to show continuous growth in employment from

1985 to 2000 is the Department of Justice. The agency’s expanded efforts to fight

drug-related and other crime have resulted in a near doubling of workers—increasing

from 62,900 to 125,300—over the 15-year period. For similar reasons, employment

at the Department of the Treasury climbed by 16,200, or 12 percent. 
7

CHANGES IN FULL-TIME CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT BY GEOGRAPHIC

AREA

About 19 percent of all full-time employees of the U.S. government work in the

Washington, D.C., metropolitan area; the rest of the federal civilian workforce is

scattered around the country. In the same way, reductions in federal employment

have been spread across the country, with almost all states experiencing some

reduction. The greatest number of reductions occurred in the eastern United States,

however, the region that accounts for almost half of all federal civilian employment

(see Table 2). Decreases in employment were not significant compared with overall

state employment, although such comparisons probably understate the impact for

particular localities. 

OTHER TRENDS IN FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT

In addition to shrinking in size since 1985, the federal workforce has become more

white-collar, older, and more concentrated in highly skilled occupations. Of those

changes, the aging of the federal workforce has been the most notable. 
8

TABLE 2. CHANGES IN FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT BY REGION AND

STATE, 1985-1999

Federal

Civilian

Employment,

1985

Federal

Civilian

Employment,

1999

Change in

Federal

Employment,

1985-1999

Percentage

Change in

Federal

Employment,

1985-1999

State Nonfarm

Employment,

1999

(in thousands)

Change in

Federal

Employment

as a

Percentage of

State

Employment

Northeast

Connecticut 9,494 7,260 (2,234) -23.53 1,663.9 -0.13

Maine 13,511 7,685 (5,826) -43.12 580.8 -1.00

Massachusetts 31,252 25,471 (5,781) -18.50 3,209.9 -0.18

New Hampshire 3,452 3,135 (317) -9.18 597.5 -0.05

Rhode Island 5,991 5,911 (80) -1.34 461.1 -0.02

Vermont 2,228 2,744 516 23.16 290.1 0.18

Subtotal 65,928 52,206 (13,722) -20.81 6,803.3 -0.20

New York/

New Jersey

New York 40,433 26,571 (13,862) -34.28 3,846.7 -0.36

New Jersey 69,768 58,218 (11,550) -16.55 8,334.5 -0.14

Subtotal 110,201 84,789 (25,412) -23.06 12,181.2 -0.21

Mid-Atlantic

Delaware 3,031 2,475 (556) -18.34 408.7 -0.14

District of 

Columbia 164,553 144,100 (20,453) -12.43 614.8 -3.33

Maryland 106,055 101,062 (4,993) -4.71 2,359.3 -0.21

Pennsylvania 86,654 62,551 (24,103) -27.82 5,528.1 -0.44

Virginia 134,844 115,668 (19,176) -14.22 3,363.9 -0.57

West Virginia 9,550 11,506 1,956 20.48 725.8 0.27

Subtotal 504,687 437,362 (67,325) -13.34 13,000.6 -0.52

Southeast

Alabama 49,933 36,892 (13,041) -26.12 1,929.4 -0.68

Florida 56,745 60,727 3,982 7.02 6,839.6 0.06

Georgia 64,202 61,981 (2,221) -3.46 3,831.6 -0.06

Kentucky 25,933 19,411 (6,522) -25.15 1,775.7 -0.37

Mississippi 18,254 16,776 (1,478) -8.10 1,135.4 -0.13

North Carolina 28,060 30,261 2,201 7.84 3,824.8 0.06

South Carolina 25,783 16,193 (9,590) -37.20 1,822.6 -0.53

Tennessee 43,411 33,089 (10,322) -23.78 2,650.7 -0.39

Subtotal 312,321 275,330 (36,991) -11.84 23,809.8 -0.16

Great Lakes

Illinois 54,273 41,799 (12,474) -22.98 5,944.1 -0.21

Indiana 24,230 20,339 (3,891) -16.06 2,956.8 -0.13

Michigan 26,915 21,519 (5,396) -20.05 4,551.7 -0.12

Minnesota 13,367 12,930 (437) -3.27 2,590.7 -0.02

Ohio 54,340 42,900 (11,440) -21.05 5,498.4 -0.21

Wisconsin 12,021 11,076 (945) -7.86 2,734.6 -0.03

Subtotal 185,146 150,563 (34,583) -18.68 24,276.3 -0.14

(Continued)
9

TABLE 2. CONTINUED

Federal

Civilian

Employment,

1985

Federal

Civilian

Employment,

1999

Change in

Federal

Employment,

1985-1999

Percentage

Change in

Federal

Employment,

1985-1999

State Nonfarm

Employment,

1999

(in thousands)

Change in

Federal

Employment

as a

Percentage of

State

Employment

South Central

Arkansas 12,220 10,948 (1,272) -10.41 1,929.4 -0.07

Louisiana 20,195 19,835 (360) -1.78 1,908.1 -0.02

New Mexico 22,348 21,178 (1,170) -5.24 729.1 -0.16

Oklahoma 37,403 31,223 (6,180) -16.52 1,465.0 -0.42

Texas 115,414 106,676 (8,738) -7.57 9,118.6 -0.10

Subtotal 207,580 189,860 (17,720) -8.54 15,150.2 -0.12

Central

Iowa 7,891 6,834 (1,057) -13.40 1,466.7 -0.07

Kansas 14,916 14,650 (266) -1.78 1,334.5 -0.02

Missouri 44,953 32,296 (12,657) -28.16 2,704.0 -0.47

Nebraska 8,657 7,632 (1,025) -11.84 875.9 -0.12

Subtotal 76,417 61,412 (15,005) -19.64 6,381.1 -0.24

North Central

Colorado 35,900 33,213 (2,687) -7.48 2,086.3 -0.13

Montana 8,276 7,724 (552) -6.67 379.4 -0.15

North Dakota 5,098 4,875 (223) -4.37 319.7 -0.07

South Dakota 6,688 6,710 22 0.33 366.2 0.01

Utah 32,553 23,415 (9,138) -28.07 1,042.4 -0.88

Wyoming 4,816 4,404 (412) -8.55 229.6 -0.18

Subtotal 93,331 80,341 (12,990) -13.92 4,423.6 -0.29

West

Arizona 27,146 28,045 899 3.31 2,125.0 0.04

California 211,805 147,835 (63,970) -30.20 13,852.4 -0.46

Hawaii 23,044 19,259 (3,785) -16.43 527.6 -0.72

Nevada 6,350 7,146 796 12.54 952.4 0.08

Subtotal 268,345 202,285 (66,060) -24.62 17,457.4 -0.38

Northwest

Alaska 10,711 11,328 617 5.76 278.0 0.22

Idaho 7,046 7,304 258 3.66 536.5 0.05

Oregon 18,648 17,380 (1,268) -6.80 1,584.2 -0.08

Washington 48,988 42,479 (6,509) -13.29 2,639.9 -0.25

Subtotal 85,393 78,491 (6,902) -8.08 5,038.6 -0.14

All States 1,909,349 1,612,639 (296,710) -15.54 128,522.1 -0.23

SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office using data from the Office of Personnel Management and the Bureau of Labor

Statistics.

NOTE: Data cover full-time employees in the executive and legislative branches who work in one of the 50 states or in

the District of Columbia.
10

The Aging of the Federal Workforce

In 1985, about 25 percent of the federal workforce was over age 50. As of

December 2000, the comparable figure was almost 40 percent. Nearly three-quarters

of the federal workforce is over age 40 (see Figure 2). In contrast, only about half of

all employed workers in the United States are over that age. 

If the federal government continues its recent efforts to limit employment, the

aging of the workforce will likely continue. Eventually, agencies could face

significant challenges replacing experienced, skilled staff as more workers become

eligible for retirement. According to the Office of Personnel Management, almost

one-third of federal civilian employees will be eligible to retire from federal service

by 2005. Agencies with workforces older than average may face some of the greatest

challenges. At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for example,

nearly half of the workers are over age 50. But the aging of the workforce could

prove beneficial in some ways. Pending retirements could provide agencies with the

opportunity to reduce employment where needed and to reshape the remaining

workforce to meet demands for better performance under the Government

Performance and Results Act and other management improvement initiatives. 
2. General Accounting Office, High-Risk Series: An Update, GAO-01-263 (January 2001), pp. 71-96.

11

19 and Under 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65 and Over

0

5

10

15

20

25

1985 2000

Percentage of Employees

FIGURE 2. AGE DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES, 1985 AND 2000

SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office using data from the Office of Personnel Management.

NOTE: Data cover full-time employees of the executive branch.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) has urged agencies to prepare for

potential problems posed by the aging of the workforce. Among other things, GAO

recently recommended more effective recruitment and retention, more succession

planning, and more investment in the training and development of existing staff.2

Changes in Occupational Distribution and Educational Attainment

Most reductions in federal civilian employment have occurred among positions the

government designates as blue-collar, such as carpenter, and white-collar clerical,

such as secretary. In 1985, employees in blue-collar occupations totaled about
12

400,000; by 2000, employment in such jobs had fallen to roughly half that level.

Over the same period, employment in less-skilled, white-collar, mostly clerical jobs

dropped to approximately 135,500 from about 377,400. In contrast, employment in

occupations that the government designates as professional, administrative, or

technical generally rose from 1985 to 2000. Examples of those positions include

attorney, personnel director, engineer, and computer operator.

As the pattern of changes in occupational distribution suggests, federal civilian

workers today are more highly skilled and educated than those of 1985, and more are

white-collar. About 79 percent of the federal civilian workforce held jobs in whitecollar occupations in 1985, and about 40 percent of all jobs were designated as

professional or administrative (see Table 3). By 2000, those percentages had grown

to 87 percent and 56 percent, respectively. At the same time, the portion of the

civilian workforce with advanced degrees has also risen. In 1985, 30 percent of the

federal civilian workforce had a bachelor’s or higher degree; by 2000, the figure

stood at 40 percent.

Mirroring the trends described above, more of the white-collar workforce holds

jobs assigned high grades on the government’s pay schedule. In the federal pay

system, most white-collar workers are paid according to the General Schedule, a pay

structure of 15 grades. Job levels are based primarily on duties and responsibilities,

with the highest-paid jobs designated grade 15 and the lowest jobs grade 1. In 1985,
13

TABLE 3. OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF 

FEDERAL WORKERS, 1985 AND 2000

Percentage of the Federal

Workforce 

Percentage of Occupational

Group with a Bachelor’s or

Higher Degree

Occupational Group 1985 2000 1985 2000

White-Collar Workers

Professional 18 24 88 87

Administrative 23 32 46 47

Technical 17 19 13 14

Clerical 19 9 6 8

Other 2 3 8 16

Subtotal 79 87 38 46

Blue-Collar Workers 21 13 2 3

All Occupations 100 100 30 40

SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office using data from the Office of Personnel Management. 

NOTE: Data cover employees in the executive branch who have full-time work schedules.

about 39 percent of the white-collar workforce held jobs at grade 11 or higher; by

2000, that figure had grown to more than 50 percent. 

A number of factors have contributed to the shift in federal employment toward

professional and administrative positions in higher grades, although it is difficult to

isolate each factor’s precise contribution. Certainly, cutbacks in defense help explain

the large reductions in the number of blue-collar workers. Traditionally, the

Department of Defense has been the government’s largest employer of those workers.
14

The loss of other less-skilled jobs may be an indication of the government’s

efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations. Many of the

management improvements proposed for government over the years, such as

automation and turning operations over to private firms, apply most appropriately to,

and allow for reduction in, lower-skilled work. 

Although management improvement efforts may reduce lower-level positions,

they may also increase the demand for highly trained personnel. For example,

contracting out to private firms, which often shifts lower-skilled work into the private

sector, may increase the role in government for well-trained professionals to prepare

and monitor contracts. Computerization and the rise of the Internet have also

increased jobs in government for technically trained personnel. In addition, the

National Performance Review and other government management reforms have

encouraged agencies to make fuller use of automation and the Internet. 
APPENDIX: THE FEDERAL CIVILIAN WORKFORCE

This appendix table shows federal civilian employment by branch of government and

agency for each year from 1985 through 2000. It has a separate section that compares

employment levels at the Department of Defense and at non-Department of Defense

agencies. The last section of the table provides information on employment totals

excluding and including the U.S. Postal Service.
16

TABLE A-1. NUMBER OF FEDERAL CIVILIAN WORKERS, FISCAL YEARS 1985-2000 (In thousands of

workers)

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

Employment by Branch of Government and Agency

Legislative Branch 39.4 37.8 37.6 38.1 37.9 37.9 38.2 39.1 38.7

Judicial Branch 17.6 18.6 19.5 20.8 21.5 22.6 24.6 27.0 28.1

Executive Branch

Executive departments

Agriculture 115.4 111.2 111.0 115.2 117.8 118.9 118.4 122.3 120.9

Commerce 35.5 35.1 34.5 39.5 49.1 155.9 45.5 37.8 38.3

Defense 1,080.3 1,088.5 1,084.0 1,072.8 1,066.9 1,060.0 1,014.7 1,003.7 952.1

Education 5.1 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.9 5.1 5.0

Energy 16.8 16.7 16.7 16.8 17.1 17.5 18.6 20.5 20.7

HHSa 141.8 136.9 130.3 123.9 122.6 123.0 126.3 131.6 131.6

HUD 12.3 11.9 12.5 13.2 13.4 13.5 13.8 14.1 13.3

Interior 76.2 74.2 72.5 74.0 75.2 75.0 76.4 80.4 81.5

Justice 62.9 65.3 67.7 73.4 78.9 81.6 87.0 94.8 98.0

Labor 18.3 18.0 17.8 18.1 18.4 17.9 17.7 18.0 17.7

State 25.1 25.4 25.4 25.7 25.3 25.3 25.5 25.9 26.1

Transportation 62.4 61.6 61.7 62.7 64.6 66.5 67.8 70.3 70.0

Treasury 134.7 138.3 147.0 162.8 163.5 162.2 169.1 169.8 164.3

Veterans Affairsb 244.7 243.8 246.3 246.7 245.2 247.3 252.7 257.8 263.8

Subtotal 2,031.5 2,031.6 2,032.0 2,049.5 2,062.6 2,169.4 2,038.4 2,052.1 2,003.3

Independent Agencies

GSA 27.7 24.9 22.0 20.4 19.9 20.2 20.6 21.1 20.7

NASA 22.5 22.1 22.6 22.9 24.2 24.5 25.3 25.6 25.2

All other 128.8 129.0 131.1 133.9 127.4 134.4 139.8 140.0 140.2

Subtotal 179.0 176.0 175.7 177.2 171.5 179.1 185.7 186.7 186.1

Total, Executive Branch 2,210.5 2,207.6 2,207.7 2,226.7 2,234.1 2,348.5 2,224.1 2,238.8 2,189.4

Total, All Three Branchesc 2,267.5 2,264.0 2,264.8 2,285.6 2,293.5 2,409.0 2,286.9 2,304.9 2,256.2

Employment Totals for the Department of Defense and Non-Defense Agencies

Department of Defense 1,080.3 1,088.5 1,084.0 1,072.8 1,066.9 1,060.0 1,014.7 1,003.7 952.1

Non-Department of

Defense Agenciesc 1,187.2 1,175.5 1,180.8 1,212.8 1,226.6 1,349.0 1,272.2 1,301.2 1,304.1

Employment Total Including the U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Postal Service 733.9 782.7 810.3 827.7 839.9 824.3 813.5 800.9 786.6

Total, Including U.S.

Postal Service 3,001.4 3,046.7 3,075.1 3,113.3 3,133.4 3,233.3 3,100.4 3,105.8 3,042.8

SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office using data from the Office of Personnel Management.

NOTES: Data are averages of monthly employment counts. Averages cover both permanent and temporary appointments, as well as full-time, part-time,

and other schedules. All geographic areas are represented, as are all agencies except the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligencegathering organizations.

(Continued)
17

TABLE A-1. CONTINUED

Change

1985-2000

Change

1999-2000

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Num-

 ber

PercentNum-

 ber

Percent

Employment by Branch of Government and Agency

Legislative Branch 36.9 34.4 32.4 31.4 31.0 30.4 30.6 -8.8 -22.3 0.2 0.7

Judicial Branch 27.9 28.3 29.0 29.8 30.9 31.8 32.0 14.4 81.8 0.2 0.6

Executive Branch

Executive departments

Agriculture 115.6 109.1 105.1 102.8 100.9 100.0 99.9 -15.5 -13.4 -0.1 -0.1

Commerce 37.7 37.3 35.8 34.6 39.5 63.5 205.5 170.0 478.9 142.0 223.6

Defense 900.3 851.8 811.3 767.8 729.9 702.6 681.3 -399.0 -36.9 -21.3 -3.0

Education 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 -0.4 -7.8 0 0

Energy 20.2 20.0 18.8 17.5 16.4 16.0 15.7 -1.1 -6.5 -0.3 -1.9

HHSa 129.6 127.6 124.6 126.1 125.4 125.2 126.2 -15.6 -11.0 1.0 0.8

HUD 13.1 12.3 11.6 11.1 10.0 9.6 10.3 -2.0 -16.3 0.7 7.3

Interior 79.5 75.5 70.4 68.7 69.7 70.1 70.5 -5.7 -7.5 0.4 0.6

Justice 97.8 100.5 106.4 113.3 119.8 123.8 125.3 62.4 99.2 1.5 1.2

Labor 17.1 16.5 15.6 15.4 15.8 15.9 15.9 -2.4 -13.1 0 0

State 25.9 25.1 24.6 24.2 24.4 25.0 27.3 2.2 8.8 2.3 9.2

Transportation 66.9 63.8 63.0 63.2 64.1 64.3 63.6 1.2 1.9 -0.7 -1.1

Treasury 159.7 163.3 156.7 151.5 148.4 150.3 150.9 16.2 12.0 0.6 0.4

Veterans Affairsb 264.2 262.0 256.2 245.7 242.2 231.3 218.4 -26.3 -10.7 -12.9 -5.6

Subtotal 1,932.5 1,869.7 1,804.9 1,746.5 1,711.2 1,702.3 1,815.5 -216.0 -10.6 113.2 6.6

Independent Agencies

GSA 19.8 17.2 15.9 14.6 14.2 14.2 14.2 -13.5 -48.7 0 0

NASA 24.1 22.6 21.4 20.3 19.3 18.7 18.6 -3.9 -17.3 -0.1 -0.5

All other 138.1 128.3 118.7 113.7 110.5 110.8 98.5 -30.3 -23.5 -12.3 -11.1

Subtotal 182.0 168.1 156.0 148.6 144.0 143.7 131.3 -47.7 -26.6 -12.4 -8.6

Total, Executive Branch 2,114.5 2,037.8 1,960.9 1,895.1 1,855.2 1,846.0 1,946.8 -263.7 -11.9 100.8 5.5

Total, All Three Branchesc 2,179.3 2,100.5 2,022.3 1,956.3 1,917.1 1,908.1 2,009.4 -258.1 -11.4 101.3 5.3

Employment Totals for the Department of Defense and Non-Defense Agencies

Department of Defense 900.3 851.8 811.3 767.8 729.9 702.6 681.3 -399.0 -36.9 -21.3 -3.0

Non-Department of

Defense Agenciesc 1,279.0 1,248.7 1,211.0 1,188.5 1,187.2 1,205.5 1,328.1 140.9 11.9 122.6 10.2

Employment Total Including the U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Postal Service 813.6 842.0 858.4 860.1 865.7 880.2 869.4 135.5 18.5 -10.8 -1.2

Total, including U.S. Postal

Service 2,992.9 2,942.5 2,880.7 2,816.4 2,782.8 2,788.4 2,878.8 -122.6 -4.1 90.4 3.2

NOTES: (Continued)

HHS = Health and Human Services; HUD = Housing and Urban Development; GSA = General Services Administration; NASA = National

Aeronautics and Space Administration.

a. For purposes of comparison, figures include the Social Security Administration, which became an independent agency in 1995.

b. The Department of Veterans Affairs replaced the Veterans Administration in March 1989.

c. Excludes the U.S. Postal Service.


This paper and other CBO publications are 

available at CBO's Web site:

www.cbo.gov