How many people work for the federal government?
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The Supreme Court agreed last Monday that the Trump administration can move forward with functionally dismantling the Education Department and fire approximately 1,400 federal workers. This comes on the heels of another Supreme Court decision that said the administration can continue with its plans to fire thousands of workers across the federal government.
The federal government is the nation’s largest employer, with a civilian workforce of about 2.96 million people as of May. Here’s how those jobs are distributed across different states and departments. |
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- Out of the 159.6 million nonfarm jobs in the US, 1.9% are in the federal government. The share of federal employment peaked in 1944 at 7.5% of jobs (about one in 13). Today, about one in 50 jobs is in the federal government, an all-time low.
- Federal workers are in every state. Maryland has the highest share at 5.4%. Wisconsin has the lowest share at 1.0%. In Washington, DC, 24.6% of all workers are federal employees. (Use the dropdown on this page for your state’s numbers.)
- Most federal workers are in the executive branch, which is home to all the Cabinet-level departments. As of September 2024, the executive branch employed 2.31 million people.
- The Defense Department is the largest federal employer at 772,500, or 33.4% of all federal civilian workers.
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Is military enlistment down?
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Military enlistment has been declining for decades, but the trend may be reversing. As of April 2025, all military branches except for the Space Force were on track to meet or exceed their recruitment goals. Here’s what the data shows. |
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- In FY 2024, an estimated 146,473 people enlisted in the US armed forces, up 14% from FY 2022.
- What’s driving the increased recruitment? Basic pay for junior enlistees rose from just shy of $22,000 in 2022 to $27,828 in 2025. Additionally, the military adjusted its messaging, leveraged additional recruiters, and piloted new training programs.
- However, the overall size of the military workforce has gone down 38% since 1980. The total number of active-duty service members declined by 45,861 from 2022 to 2024, leading to fewer than 1.3 million service members.
- The Navy had the largest percentage decline in entry level enlistees of all branches (16.1%). The Air Force was the only branch to grow, with 7.7% more entry-level enlistees.
- The Department of Defense estimates that 77% of young adults are ineligible to serve, most often due to obesity, education gaps, or criminal records. Enlistees with these eligibility gaps can request a waiver. Additionally, 87% of people between the ages of 16 and 21 said they weren't interested in enlisting.
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The Dragon Bravo fire in Arizona began with a lightning strike on July 4, spreading to eventually destroy dozens of buildings on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Meanwhile, the Cram Fire in Oregon is now the largest wildfire in the nation this year. See data on wildfires in the US. Congress passed a rescission package last week that cut foreign aid by $7.9 billion. This included a portion of funds allocated to USAID. In fiscal year 2024, USAID spent $21.7 billion, or 0.3% of overall federal spending. Get more on foreign aid. The eastern half of the US is weathering high heat and humidity this week. Learn what the data says about deaths from extreme heat. |
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Between fiscal years 2014 and 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, made 3.62 million book-ins to detention facilities. In 2024, detention book-ins were down 34.7% from 2014. Book-in numbers can count people more than once if they are transferred several times. |
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