GAO noted that comparable data on DoD’s sizable contractor workforce historically are not available, although under a counting system used in recent years, DoD contracted with about 710,000 contractor full time equivalents in 2011, almost the same size as its civilian workforce.
DoD was not required to track such information until 2008. The numbers have bounced up and down. For 2008, DoD reported 655,000, followed by 767,000, 623,000 and 710,000.
GAO said that DoD officials “cautioned against comparing the number of contractor FTEs reported across fiscal years because of differences in the estimating formula, changes in reporting for the research and development category, and other factors.”
Those factors include difficulty in developing a common data system to collect and house the figures, given different requirements and procedures among the military services and other DoD components. DoD does not expect to fully collect contractor manpower for another three years.
