Federal Government Archives - Solutions for the Workplace

What Does The Federal Workforce Look Like?

July 19, 2024July 9, 2024 by Nancy

The Partnership for Public Service recently published a profile of the federal government’s 2M civilian, executive branch employees based on data from FedScope. Here are some fun facts:

Between 2019 and 2023, the federal workforce grew by ~140,000 employees.
In 1945, the federal workforce represented 2.5% of the entire US population; today, federal government employees make up ~.6% of the US population.
The vast majority of federal employees are involved in defense and national security (nearly 71%). The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has 20% of the entire federal workforce with 400,000 employees.
The top occupational category in the government is medical and medically aligned positions; these include physicians, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists, dental officers, veterinarians and many other public health occupations. There are ~310,000 federal employees in these occupations.
Despite media reports to the contrary, only 20% of federal employees work in the Washington, DC-Maryland-Virginia area.
Only 7.4% of federal employees are under the age of 30; this is lower than the US labor force; 42.6% of the federal workforce is 50+. New hires are primarily between the ages of 30 and 49 (55%)/
The federal government is more diverse than the private sector with 60% of employees identifying as white (compared to 76% in the private sector). 26% of the members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) identify as people of color and 39% of SES members are women.
30% of federal employees are veterans.
Education levels are higher in the government as well, with 53.8% holding at least an undergraduate degree (compared to 40.4% in the IS labor force).

Want more data? FedScope (www.fedscope.opm.gov) can provide it!

Another Initiative: Coaching

February 4, 2021December 23, 2018 by Nancy

In September 2018, the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance and direction on the importance of creating a coaching culture. The guidance asserted that coaching is a critical tool as the Federal Government strives to develop a workforce that supports the effective and efficient mission achievement and improved services to the American people. This coaching initiative supports the President’s Management Agenda, especially in the areas of Continuous Learning and Strategic Workforce Management.

What Should Federal Workers Expect in 2018?

February 4, 2021March 26, 2018 by Nancy

While many of you may have heard that budget is policy, and some of the budget proposals (if passed) have the potential to impact our benefits, I think it is also important that we look at what the Administration is saying that they want to focus on vis-à-vis the federal workforce.

7 Steps to Prepare Yourself for New Administration

February 4, 2021January 23, 2017 by Nancy

Nancy Segal is now the weekly career columnist for FEDWeek. This article was originally posted in the FEDWeek Career Forum.

January always brings new beginnings—a new year, resolutions, and promises to ourselves and others. This January brings a Presidential transition; if nothing else, 2017 promises change for the federal employee. There will be new agency heads, new policies, and new thinking.