Federal Manager's Daily Report

The 40-49 age group had the lowest departure rate, and those over age 60 had the highest. Image: Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com

The federal employee turnover rate increased in fiscal 2021 over 2020 to 6.1 percent from 5.5 percent but the government “is not in crisis” over turnover, a study has found. The increase in essence returned the government to the level of before the pandemic, said the Partnership for Public Service, since the rate had ranged between 5.6 and 6.1 the previous five years.

However, it did note that the rate for employees under age 30 was above average at 8.5 percent. “While it is possible that these employees are seeking educational opportunities and plan to return to government, it is also important that government pay particular attention to this age group. Government already struggles to attract and hire young talent, so it must ensure that young people are not only getting hired into government but staying in government,” it said.

The 40-49 age group had the lowest rate, 2.8 percent, while the highest, 16.7 percent, was among those over age 60, largely due to retirements.

Other findings of the study of the two dozen Cabinet departments and largest independent agencies included that:

* The rate was highest at VA, 7.1, Army and Air Force, 6.9, and Treasury and USDA, 6.6—each up by about a half-percentage point—and lowest at EPA, 4.2, and Commerce, State, Transportation, USAID and NASA, each 4.4. Only Justice and NRC saw decreases, of 0.2 points.

* The rate was below average, 5 percent, for both cyber and STEM positions—two areas of special concern for federal recruitment and retention—but notably higher, 7.1 percent, in another, health-related occupations. The latter “mirrors trends in the private sector, where low morale and trauma from the pandemic” caused an attrition rate in those positions of 20 percent.

* Retirements consistently make up about half of all turnover and since they “are easier to predict than quits, government should be proactive about replacing employees who plan to retire.”

“While some attrition is natural and provides opportunities for new talent and ideas, turnover can cause a loss of institutional knowledge and cost time and resources to hire a replacement. Therefore, government needs to monitor attrition and be proactive where possible to ensure it is quickly meeting its workforce needs and best serving the public,” it said.

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See also,

Federal Retirement COLA Count Hits 9 Percent

The Process of Retiring – OPM’s Benefits Determination Process

House Republicans Revive Retirement Benefit-Cutting Proposals

Retiring from a Federal Job – Getting Started

Retiring from a Federal Job: Make Sure Your Agency Gets it Right

2022 Federal Employees Handbook