Is the federal workforce too large? Trump’s perspective and what you need to know
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The federal workforce is often a topic of heated debate, and it's back in the spotlight with President Trump's recent claims and actions.
Trump has characterized the federal government as “bloated” and filled with “unnecessary” personnel, sparking concerns about job security for many and raising questions about the potential impact on public services.
President Trump is acting quickly to shrink the US federal government, which serves as the country’s largest employer. He said that this aims to eliminate “wasteful spending” and make the country’s civil workforce more responsive to his administration.
He described the federal government as “bloated” and ridden with “people that are unnecessary.”
Although the federal government has inefficiencies such as other large organizations, experts are emphasizing that the government workforce has barely increased since 1980, with some agencies and services struggling with staffing shortages such as the Veterans Health Administration and the FAA’s air traffic control centers.
"There's no indication that the government is particularly bloated in terms of numbers of federal workers — that number hasn't really changed over the past decades," Elizabeth Linos, the Emma Bloomberg associate professor of public policy and management at Harvard's Kennedy School, shared with CBS MoneyWatch. "The problem we were facing over the past decades isn't one of bloat, but of vacancies."
Last Thursday, the Trump administration commanded agencies to fire almost all probationary employees–these employees have less than a year on the job and aren’t provided yet with civil service protections.
An executive order was also signed to decrease the number of government employees and limit hiring. The administration’s order last Thursday regarding the layoffs of probationary workers is expected to be the first step in many layoffs.
As per government data, there are about 220,000 federal workers with less than one year on the job, which is around 9% of the federal workforce.
"I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind," Musk stated over a video call to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. "If we don't remove the roots of the weed, then it's easy for the weed to grow back."
Here’s what you need to know about the potential effects on Americans as President Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency work to slash spending.
Actions taken to shrink the federal workforce
President Trump has offered a “deferred resignation” plan to over 2 million federal employees. This grants them pay until the end of September while not working, as long as they agree to resign.
This program has already been cleared by a federal judge following a slight pause. So far, around 75,000 workers have accepted the offer and the Trump administration announced the closure of the program as of February 12, 7:00 PM.
This offer does not include members of the armed forces, US Postal Service workers, and those who are employed in jobs involving immigration enforcement and national security.
Source: WHAS11 / Youtube.
Is there an increase in the federal workforce?
As these changes happen, policy experts are saying that the federal workforce has lessened in number compared to the US population if the numbers are compared to earlier decades.
There are fewer government workers providing services to more US residents, as per the research from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Its size today is similar to the 1980s, when the population of the country was around 220 million.
However, there are more than 330 million US residents today.
Size of the federal workforce
The US has around 2.4 million federal workers, aside from those who work at the US Postal Service, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"In absolute terms, the federal workforce is slightly smaller than it was 50 years ago, even though the U.S. population has increased by two-thirds during that time period," shared Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who handled the Clinton Administration's National Performance Review, in a January 28 report.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs employs the most federal workers, with over 487,000 staff members, according to data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). It is followed by the Department of Homeland Security, with more than 222,000 employees, and the US Army, which has 221,000 personnel.
In contrast, some of the agencies targeted by Mr. Trump are significantly smaller. For example, the president is considering an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, which employs approximately 4,200 people.
Efficiency of federal workers
Linos of Harvard’s Kennedy School said that there is no “overarching measure” of the efficiency of the workforce, but agencies usually check their own operations to determine gaps that affect their services.
Efficiency should be measured on whether agencies are providing the services they should be handling, she added.
Source: CBS News / Youtube.
For example, the most recent annual performance report from the Social Security Administration highlighted long wait times for callers as a major issue, noting an aim to reduce average hold times from 34 minutes to 12 minutes by fiscal year 2024.
However, the report acknowledged that this "aspirational goal" was under review due to a hiring freeze.
Also read: Elon Musk’s dire Social Security warning—what you need to know
The Social Security Administration, which provided services to a record 68 million beneficiaries last year, is currently operating with its smallest workforce in 50 years, as former Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley testified in November.
It's important to recognize that inefficiencies persist across the US government. A 2024 report from the US Government Accountability Office estimated that fraud costs taxpayers up to $521 billion annually, or roughly 8% of federal spending.
Moreover, federal spending has surged in recent years, much of which is attributed to increased expenditures on Social Security and rising interest payments on federal debt, as noted by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Where are federal workers located?
Approximately 7% of federal employees work within Washington, D.C., as reported by the 2024 Congressional Research Service (CRS). However, when including those stationed in Virginia and Maryland, the broader Washington, D.C., metropolitan area accounts for about 20% of the entire federal workforce.
Around 80% of federal workers are based outside the D.C. area, with civil service employees present in every state across the U.S., according to the CRS report.
Also read: Trump administration’s bold move for government workers—will you accept?
While Washington, D.C., has the highest concentration of federal workers at roughly 162,000, other states follow closely behind. California, for example, employs about 147,000 federal workers, and Texas has around 130,000.
Other states with significant federal workforces include Florida, with approximately 94,000, and Georgia, which has nearly 80,000 federal employees.
Source: USA TODAY / Youtube.
What is the typical salary of a federal worker?
The average annual salary of federal workers exceeds $106,000, based on data from the Pew Research Center, referencing OPM figures.
Salaries are generally higher in the federal government because many civil service employees possess advanced degrees and specialized training. A significant portion of federal workers are in the medical field, including physicians and nurses working for the VA.
Other professionals, such as accountants and attorneys, often earn more in the private sector. For example, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates futures contracts, pays its employees an average of $235,910, with about 40% of its workforce being attorneys.
What impact would a smaller federal workforce have on Americans?
If federal positions were cut or workers resigned in large numbers, public services could suffer, says Harvard’s Linos. However, Americans would still expect services, like timely benefit payments or passport issuance, to continue without disruption.
To mitigate this, the federal government might turn to private contractors, Linos notes. But this would come at a higher cost, as private-sector workers typically earn higher wages and offer less accountability.
Also read: Elon Musk takes aim at government spending: What it means for Medicare and Medicaid benefits
A reduction in public services could exacerbate negative perceptions of the federal government, Linos adds. Public trust in the government has been steadily declining for decades, dropping from approximately 77% in the 1960s to just 22% today, according to the Pew Research Center.
"When we tell people the government is bloated and their daily experiences worsen, it reinforces the belief that the government is ineffective," she concludes.
Do you have thoughts on how a smaller federal workforce might affect public services? Share your experiences and opinions in the comments below!
Trump has characterized the federal government as “bloated” and filled with “unnecessary” personnel, sparking concerns about job security for many and raising questions about the potential impact on public services.
President Trump is acting quickly to shrink the US federal government, which serves as the country’s largest employer. He said that this aims to eliminate “wasteful spending” and make the country’s civil workforce more responsive to his administration.
He described the federal government as “bloated” and ridden with “people that are unnecessary.”
Although the federal government has inefficiencies such as other large organizations, experts are emphasizing that the government workforce has barely increased since 1980, with some agencies and services struggling with staffing shortages such as the Veterans Health Administration and the FAA’s air traffic control centers.
"There's no indication that the government is particularly bloated in terms of numbers of federal workers — that number hasn't really changed over the past decades," Elizabeth Linos, the Emma Bloomberg associate professor of public policy and management at Harvard's Kennedy School, shared with CBS MoneyWatch. "The problem we were facing over the past decades isn't one of bloat, but of vacancies."
President Trump and Elon Musk have collaborated to reduce the size of the US federal workforce, which is the nation's largest employer. Image source: ABC News / Youtube.
Last Thursday, the Trump administration commanded agencies to fire almost all probationary employees–these employees have less than a year on the job and aren’t provided yet with civil service protections.
An executive order was also signed to decrease the number of government employees and limit hiring. The administration’s order last Thursday regarding the layoffs of probationary workers is expected to be the first step in many layoffs.
As per government data, there are about 220,000 federal workers with less than one year on the job, which is around 9% of the federal workforce.
"I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind," Musk stated over a video call to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. "If we don't remove the roots of the weed, then it's easy for the weed to grow back."
Here’s what you need to know about the potential effects on Americans as President Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency work to slash spending.
Actions taken to shrink the federal workforce
President Trump has offered a “deferred resignation” plan to over 2 million federal employees. This grants them pay until the end of September while not working, as long as they agree to resign.
This program has already been cleared by a federal judge following a slight pause. So far, around 75,000 workers have accepted the offer and the Trump administration announced the closure of the program as of February 12, 7:00 PM.
This offer does not include members of the armed forces, US Postal Service workers, and those who are employed in jobs involving immigration enforcement and national security.
Source: WHAS11 / Youtube.
Is there an increase in the federal workforce?
As these changes happen, policy experts are saying that the federal workforce has lessened in number compared to the US population if the numbers are compared to earlier decades.
There are fewer government workers providing services to more US residents, as per the research from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Its size today is similar to the 1980s, when the population of the country was around 220 million.
However, there are more than 330 million US residents today.
Layoffs targeting probationary employees and a “deferred resignation” plan for federal employees are amongst measures implemented to downsize the workforce. Image source: USA TODAY / Youtube.
Size of the federal workforce
The US has around 2.4 million federal workers, aside from those who work at the US Postal Service, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"In absolute terms, the federal workforce is slightly smaller than it was 50 years ago, even though the U.S. population has increased by two-thirds during that time period," shared Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who handled the Clinton Administration's National Performance Review, in a January 28 report.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs employs the most federal workers, with over 487,000 staff members, according to data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). It is followed by the Department of Homeland Security, with more than 222,000 employees, and the US Army, which has 221,000 personnel.
In contrast, some of the agencies targeted by Mr. Trump are significantly smaller. For example, the president is considering an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, which employs approximately 4,200 people.
Efficiency of federal workers
Linos of Harvard’s Kennedy School said that there is no “overarching measure” of the efficiency of the workforce, but agencies usually check their own operations to determine gaps that affect their services.
Efficiency should be measured on whether agencies are providing the services they should be handling, she added.
Source: CBS News / Youtube.
For example, the most recent annual performance report from the Social Security Administration highlighted long wait times for callers as a major issue, noting an aim to reduce average hold times from 34 minutes to 12 minutes by fiscal year 2024.
However, the report acknowledged that this "aspirational goal" was under review due to a hiring freeze.
Also read: Elon Musk’s dire Social Security warning—what you need to know
The Social Security Administration, which provided services to a record 68 million beneficiaries last year, is currently operating with its smallest workforce in 50 years, as former Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley testified in November.
It's important to recognize that inefficiencies persist across the US government. A 2024 report from the US Government Accountability Office estimated that fraud costs taxpayers up to $521 billion annually, or roughly 8% of federal spending.
Moreover, federal spending has surged in recent years, much of which is attributed to increased expenditures on Social Security and rising interest payments on federal debt, as noted by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Where are federal workers located?
Approximately 7% of federal employees work within Washington, D.C., as reported by the 2024 Congressional Research Service (CRS). However, when including those stationed in Virginia and Maryland, the broader Washington, D.C., metropolitan area accounts for about 20% of the entire federal workforce.
Around 80% of federal workers are based outside the D.C. area, with civil service employees present in every state across the U.S., according to the CRS report.
Also read: Trump administration’s bold move for government workers—will you accept?
While Washington, D.C., has the highest concentration of federal workers at roughly 162,000, other states follow closely behind. California, for example, employs about 147,000 federal workers, and Texas has around 130,000.
Other states with significant federal workforces include Florida, with approximately 94,000, and Georgia, which has nearly 80,000 federal employees.
Source: USA TODAY / Youtube.
What is the typical salary of a federal worker?
The average annual salary of federal workers exceeds $106,000, based on data from the Pew Research Center, referencing OPM figures.
Salaries are generally higher in the federal government because many civil service employees possess advanced degrees and specialized training. A significant portion of federal workers are in the medical field, including physicians and nurses working for the VA.
Other professionals, such as accountants and attorneys, often earn more in the private sector. For example, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates futures contracts, pays its employees an average of $235,910, with about 40% of its workforce being attorneys.
What impact would a smaller federal workforce have on Americans?
If federal positions were cut or workers resigned in large numbers, public services could suffer, says Harvard’s Linos. However, Americans would still expect services, like timely benefit payments or passport issuance, to continue without disruption.
To mitigate this, the federal government might turn to private contractors, Linos notes. But this would come at a higher cost, as private-sector workers typically earn higher wages and offer less accountability.
Also read: Elon Musk takes aim at government spending: What it means for Medicare and Medicaid benefits
A reduction in public services could exacerbate negative perceptions of the federal government, Linos adds. Public trust in the government has been steadily declining for decades, dropping from approximately 77% in the 1960s to just 22% today, according to the Pew Research Center.
"When we tell people the government is bloated and their daily experiences worsen, it reinforces the belief that the government is ineffective," she concludes.
Do you have thoughts on how a smaller federal workforce might affect public services? Share your experiences and opinions in the comments below!
