Treasury and DHS each were up by about 5,000 to about 219,000 and 105,000. Image: Bob Korn/Shutterstock.com
Federal employment increased by some 80,000 to about 2,260,000 in fiscal year 2023 ending last September, new figures from OPM show, with separations for various reasons down by about 53,000 to some 237,000 and hiring up by some 17,000 to about 234,000.
The data cover both full-time and part-time and both permanent and temporary positions in executive branch agencies excluding the Postal Service and intelligence agencies.
In terms of growth, all but about 10,000 of the gain occurred in Cabinet departments—which account for about 90 percent of the workforce—with large independent agencies accounting for nearly all the rest. The VA accounted for about 35,000 additional employees, bringing its total to above 470,000 as it continued to add medical staff and others, including for work related to recently enacted benefits eligibility related to exposure to military burn pits.
Treasury and DHS each were up by about 5,000 to about 219,000 and 105,000, while the rest of the growth was spread across other departments—each of which had at least some gain over 2022.
In the large independent agency (1,000 or more employees) category, SSA saw a gain of nearly 4,000 to above 61,000 while nearly all of the others saw minor increases.
On the separations end, interagency transfers were down by about 8,000 to about 40,000 while separations from federal service were down by about 45,000 to about 197,000. Separations from federal service mainly consisted of: about 90,000 quits, down about 24,000; about 58,000 retirements, down about 16,000; and about 32,000 expirations of term appointments, down about 8,000.
Terminations for performance or disciplinary reasons were about 12,600, up from the 10,200-12,300 range of the prior three years.
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