How many civilian jobs are in the US federal government?
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About 2.96 million, as of May 2025. Federal jobs include all jobs ranging from janitors to air traffic controllers to nurses to postal workers and more. (Enlisted service people are considered government employees but aren’t included in this figure because they’re not civilians.) Out of the 159.6 million nonfarm jobs in the US, 1.9% are in the federal government, the nation’s largest employer. Another way to look at it: The federal government is responsible for one in every 50 jobs.
3M
jobs in the federal government (May 2025)
1.9%
federal government share of all nonfarm jobs (May 2025)
In May 2025, non-military federal employment stood at 2.96 million people, down 1.4% from the previous year. Federal employment peaked in May 1990 at 3.4 million, a predictable date — spikes in federal employment tend to occur every 10 years, when the US Census Bureau employs temporary workers nationwide to help with the count.
As of May 2025, there were 3 million federal government jobs.
Civilian federal government employees, January 1939 to May 2025
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The sharp increase at the beginning of the chart reflects the US response to the Great Depression. President Roosevelt introduced the New Deal in 1933 and established a number of new federal agencies over the following years – agencies which required staff. Some of these New Deal agencies are still around, like the Social Security Administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (commonly called the FDIC).
Federal employment as a share of nonfarm employment in the US has generally dropped since peaking at 7.5%, or about one in 13, in November 1944. In May 2025, 1.9% of nonfarm jobs, or about one in 50, were in the federal government. That matches its all-time low.
As of May 2025, 1.9% of jobs in the US were in the federal government.
Civilian federal government share of nonfarm employment, January 1939 to May 2025
There are federal workers in every state. The share of federal jobs varies by state. In May 2025, Maryland has the highest proportion of jobs, with 5.4% of all nonfarm workers employed by the federal government. Wisconsin has the lowest share at 1.0%. In Washington, DC, 24.6% of all workers are employed by the US government.
5.4% of the jobs in Maryland are in the federal government, more than any other state.
Civilian federal government employees (including postal workers) share of nonfarm employment May 2025
Most federal jobs are in the executive branch, home to all the Cabinet-level departments. In the latest data available from September 2024, there were 2.31 million civil service workers in the executive branch, according to data from the US Office of Personnel Management. (This excludes some employees, including postal workers and enlisted military.) Seventeen cabinet departments or independent agencies employed more than 10,000 people each; these departments accounted for 96.5% of federal employment.
The Department of Defense has the highest employment at 772,500, or 33.4% of all federal civilian workers.
In September 2024, the Department of Defense accounted for more federal workers than any other agency.
Civilian federal personnel, primarily in executive branch, as of September 2024
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
