# 2026 Federal Employment Trends Update

**URL:** <https://www.fedwork.net/t/2026-federal-employment-trends-update/4232>\
**Category:** Ladders and Scales\
**Created:** [August 22, 2026, 11:38am UTC](https://www.fedwork.net/t/2026-federal-employment-trends-update/4232 "2026-08-22T11:38:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DDamp](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/www.fedwork.net/ddamp/32/316_2.png) [@DDamp](https://www.fedwork.net/u/DDamp)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 11:38am UTC](https://www.fedwork.net/t/2026-federal-employment-trends-update/4232/1 "2026-08-22T11:38:09Z")

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The U.S. federal civilian workforce has shrunk to roughly 1.95 million employees, marking a decrease of approximately 11.5% to 12% since its late 2024 peak. This represents the [sharpest year-over-year drawdown](https://data.opm.gov/) of the federal workforce since the 1990s, driven by aggressive executive restructuring, a broad hiring freeze, and programmatic employee departures.