Federal Workforce Shrinks by 10% in Trump’s First Year Back in Office
The federal workforce experienced a significant reduction in 2025, shrinking by 10.3%, or nearly 238,000 workers, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of recently published government data.
Federal Employment Trends
Federal worker employment fell in 2025, with a notable increase in separations – individuals leaving federal employment – and a decrease in novel hires. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers:
| Year | Federal Workers | New Hires | Separations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 209,386 | 82,017 | |
| 2017 | 208,116 | 02,017 | |
| 2018 | 209,788 | 12,018 | |
| 2019 | 213,146 | 52,019 | |
| 2020 | 217,151 | 32,020 | |
| 2021 | 217,015 | 72,021 | |
| 2022 | 217,698 | 32,022 | |
| 2023 | 226,128 | 22,023 | |
| 2024 | 231,230 | 126,343 | 3,192,562 |
| 2025 | 207,464 | 91,169 | 12,348,219 |
A total of 348,219 people quit, retired, were laid off, or otherwise left federal employment in 2025 – an 80.8% increase from 2024. Simultaneously, only 116,912 people started working for the federal government, a 55.6% decrease from the previous year.
Impact Across Agencies
The job losses were widespread, but particularly pronounced at certain agencies. The Education Department experienced a 42.6% staff reduction between December 2024 and December 2025, decreasing from nearly 4,300 employees to fewer than 2,500. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) saw even more drastic cuts, shrinking from just under 4,900 employees to 370, a 92.4% decrease.
Other agencies with significant reductions include:
- Parent agency of the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities (-56.6%)
- AmeriCorps (-43.6%)
- Tiny Business Administration (-32.9%)
- Agency overseeing Voice of America (-32.7%)
- National Science Foundation (-30.3%)
Within the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement added approximately 7,500 workers, increasing to 28,272 employees (a 36.1% increase). Customs and Border Protection also saw a slight increase, rising from 66,613 to 67,587 employees (up 1.5%). However, most other Homeland Security components experienced job losses.
Occupational Trends
The cuts disproportionately affected white-collar workers, with a 10.6% decrease compared to a 6.7% decrease among blue-collar occupations. Some of the largest reductions were observed in:
- Information and arts (-20.6%)
- Accounting and budget (-17.3%)
- General administrative, clerical and office (-17.0%)
- Business and industry (-16.4%)
- Human resources management (-15.3%)
Increases were seen in investigation-related fields, driven by border patrol enforcement. Notable losses also occurred in medical professions, tax professions, information technology management and legal positions.
Demographic Shifts
The analysis also revealed shifts in the demographic composition of the federal workforce. Workers younger than 35 made up 18% of the workforce at the conclude of 2024, but that figure decreased to 16.8% by the end of 2025. Workers with less than two years of experience fell from 16.2% to 10.3% of the workforce.
the Office of Personnel Management no longer publishes data on the gender, race, ethnicity, or disability status of federal workers, limiting further demographic analysis.