Nearly half of the federal government’s 1.9 million workers,
including 70 percent of supervisors, will be eligible to
retire in the next five years, yet just 28 percent of
recent college graduates responded to a 2004 poll that
they were “very interested” in a federal job, according
to the Partnership for Public Service, which has just
released the first issue of its new publication, “Poll
Watch.”
The results of another poll throw those numbers into
relief because they indicate that recent graduates that
express interest in government service often seek
employment in non-profit organizations instead.
PPS, a non-profit itself that is dedicated to promoting
federal employment, says the compilation of research on
public service issues is designed for policymakers and
the media.
The issue cites a 2004 poll in which 70 percent of
Americans — recent college graduates and mid-career
professionals alike — said they “believe that there
are great jobs for regular people in the government,”
and places it with findings from a poll two years
earlier in which 62 percent of 18-30 year-olds said
they had never even been asked to consider working for
the federal government, indicating this segment might
be receptive to recruiting efforts.
Other data indicates non-profits are the main competitor
for federal recruiters. A 2002 poll from the Brookings
Institution showed 44 percent of respondents thought
non-profits did the best job of delivering services on
the public’s behalf, compared to 16 percent citing
businesses with government clients, and just six
percent citing the government itself.
Poll Watch:
http://www.ourpublicservice.org/research/research_show.htm?doc_id=275151
