By gender, the numbers remained about constant at about 55 percent made, while by average years of service there was a decline from 15.8 to 11.8. Image: Faina Gurevich/Shutterstock.com
The Congressional Research Service has charted how the federal workforce has grown and changed over the last seven Presidential terms, starting with the last term of the Clinton administration ending in 2000, with highlights including the growth in the contingent of workers over age 50.
Using data from OPM and elsewhere, the CRS put the year-end 2000 federal employment level at 2000, rising to 1.86 million and 1.92 million at the end of the two Bush terms, 2.1 million at the end of both Obama terms, 2.18 million at the end of the Trump administration and 2.26 million as of the end of last year.
In that time, the number of employees age 50 and above rose steadily, from 642,000 to 950,000, while the number age 35-49 rose from 839,000 to 905,000 and the number age 34 and under from 281,000 to 407,000.
During that time, the education level also rose—reflecting the changing nature of federal work—from 34,000 to 85,000 with a doctorate-level degree, 142,000 to 384,000 with a masters degree and 380,000 to 600,000 with a bachelor’s degree—in percentage terms, from 31 to 47 percent.
By gender, the numbers remained about constant at about 55 percent made, while by average years of service there was a decline from 15.8 to 11.8.
The CRS document was only a statistical report and made no observations regarding the trends.
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