Education and Labor:

Information on the Departments' Field Offices

HEHS-96-178, Sep 16, 1996

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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information about the field offices supporting the Departments of Education and Labor, focusing on the field offices': (1) locations; (2) functions, staffing, space and operating costs; and (3) proposed structural changes.

GAO found that: (1) in fiscal year 1995, the Department of Education had 72 field offices and the Department of Labor had 1,074 field offices; (2) Labor and Education spent a total of $867 million dollars in support of their field office operations; (3) about 94 percent of Education's field staff and 42 percent of Labor's field staff were located in ten regional cities; (4) Labor had a high concentration of staff in its field offices, reflecting the agency's general responsibilities; (5) the majority of the amount spent in supporting field offices operations was for staff salaries and benefits; and (6) Labor and Education are planning to make changes in their field office structures to improve efficiency and contain administrative costs.