The number of non-seasonal, full-time, permanent federal employees edged downward slightly last year for the third year in a row, while employment in other categories dropped more steeply, according to new OPM data.
So-called NSFTP employees in the personnel agency’s terminology, are what is considered the core federal workforce since their numbers aren’t subject to factors such as ups and downs of seasonal employment, changes in hours as need for part-time work rises and falls, or the start or end of temporary appointments linked to short-term needs.
By OPM’s account, that number as of the end of fiscal 2014 stood at 1,825,762, down from a peak, over the last 10 years, of 1,856,580 in fiscal 2011.
Including seasonal, part-time and temporary employees combined brings the federal employment total to the commonly cited 2.1 million figure, rounded off. Their 10-year numbers also peaked in fiscal 2010 at 281,491, in part due to conducting the Census that year, which involves much temporary hiring. That number slipped each year since, seeing its greatest decrease in percentage terms, almost 9.4 percent, in fiscal 2013 when many agencies—in particular DoD—shed temporary employees due to sequestration.
The number of NSFTP employees per 1,000 Americans has fallen to 5.725 from the 10-year peak of 5.956 in 2011, although it’s still above the 10-year low of 5.366 in 2007.
