Federal Agency Workforce Changes: Update for January to June 2025
Fast Facts
Executive orders in 2025 aimed to reduce the federal workforce while restricting hiring in many areas.
In the first half of 2025, staffing declined at nearly all major agencies. About 134,000 employees separated during this time and about 66,000 were hired. Another 144,000 employees were approved for a deferred resignation program that required they leave federal employment by the end of 2025.
A website launched by the Office of Personnel Management in 2026 provides more frequent workforce data and new features to make it more accessible and useful.
GAO will provide updates on this matter in future reports.
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Highlights
What GAO Found
Since January 2025, the President has issued several directives for federal agencies to restrict hiring and reduce the size of the federal government’s workforce (see figure below for examples). However, agencies were still allowed to hire new staff for certain positions, including those related to national security and public safety.
Timeline of Selected Directives and Government-wide Guidance on Federal Workforce Changes, January to June 2025
Data reported by major federal agencies showed that from January to June 2025, staffing declined at nearly all of them. Across these agencies, about 134,000 employees (or 6 percent of the workforce) separated during this period, while about 66,000 employees (including temporary employees) were hired. Agencies reported that another roughly 144,000 employees were approved for a deferred resignation program and would end their federal employment by the end of 2025.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has updated how it reports federal workforce data. OPM has broad responsibilities for collecting and sharing workforce data. In January 2026, the agency launched a website with new features and more frequent data releases to make workforce data more accessible and useful for Congress and others.
Why GAO Did This Study
GAO was asked to provide quarterly updates on workforce changes at the 24 federal Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies. This report (1) provides information on workforce changes at CFO Act agencies from January to June 2025, and (2) describes actions OPM has taken to modernize how it reports workforce data. To address these objectives, GAO collected data from CFO Act agencies on workforce changes during this period, and information from OPM on updates to how it collects and presents agency data. GAO will provide updates to the information in this product in future reports on these issues.
For more information, contact Dawn G. Locke at LockeD@gao.gov.