Historical Federal Workforce Tables
Total Government Employment Since 1962 1
(numbers in thousands)
| Year | Executive branch civilians (thousands) | Uniformed military personnel (thousands) | Legislative and judicial branch personnel (thousands) | Total Federal personnel (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 2,485 | 2,840 | 30 | 5,354 |
| 1963 2 | 2,498 | 2,732 | 30 | 5,260 |
| 1964 2 | 2,470 | 2,719 | 31 | 5,220 |
| 1965 | 2,496 | 2,687 | 32 | 5,215 |
| 1966 | 2,726 | 3,129 | 33 | 5,888 |
| 1967 | 2,968 | 3,413 | 34 | 6,416 |
| 1968 | 3,020 | 3,584 | 35 | 6,639 |
| 1969 3 | 3,040 | 3,499 | 36 | 6,575 |
| 1970 4 | 2,944 | 3,104 | 38 | 6,085 |
| 1971 4 | 2,883 | 2,752 | 40 | 5,675 |
| 1972 | 2,823 | 2,360 | 42 | 5,225 |
| 1973 | 2,781 | 2,289 | 44 | 5,113 |
| 1974 | 2,847 | 2,198 | 46 | 5,091 |
| 1975 | 2,848 | 2,164 | 49 | 5,061 |
| 1976 | 2,833 | 2,119 | 50 | 5,002 |
| 1977 | 2,840 | 2,112 | 53 | 5,005 |
| 1978 | 2,875 | 2,099 | 55 | 5,028 |
| 1979 | 2,823 | 2,063 | 53 | 4,939 |
| 1980 4 | 2,821 | 2,090 | 55 | 4,965 |
| 1981 4 | 2,806 | 2,122 | 54 | 4,982 |
| 1982 | 2,770 | 2,147 | 55 | 4,972 |
| 1983 | 2,820 | 2,163 | 56 | 5,039 |
| 1984 | 2,854 | 2,178 | 56 | 5,088 |
| 1985 | 3,008 | 2,190 | 58 | 5,256 |
| 1986 | 2,966 | 2,206 | 55 | 5,228 |
| 1987 | 3,030 | 2,213 | 58 | 5,301 |
| 1988 | 3,054 | 2,176 | 59 | 5,289 |
| 1989 | 3,064 | 2,168 | 60 | 5,292 |
| 1990 4 | 3,067 | 2,106 | 61 | 5,234 |
| 1991 4 | 3,048 | 2,040 | 64 | 5,152 |
| 1992 | 3,017 | 1,848 | 66 | 4,931 |
| 1993 | 2,947 | 1,744 | 66 | 4,758 |
| 1994 | 2,908 | 1,648 | 63 | 4,620 |
| 1995 | 2,858 | 1,555 | 62 | 4,475 |
| 1996 | 2,786 | 1,507 | 61 | 4,354 |
| 1997 | 2,725 | 1,439 | 62 | 4,226 |
| 1998 | 2,727 | 1,407 | 62 | 4,196 |
| 1999 | 2,687 | 1,386 | 63 | 4,135 |
| 2000 4 | 2,639 | 1,426 | 63 | 4,129 |
| 2001 4 | 2,640 | 1,428 | 64 | 4,132 |
| 2002 | 2,630 | 1,456 | 66 | 4,152 |
| 2003 | 2,666 | 1,478 | 65 | 4,210 |
| 2004 | 2,650 | 1,473 | 64 | 4,187 |
| 2005 | 2,636 | 1,436 | 65 | 4,138 |
| 2006 | 2,637 | 1,432 | 63 | 4,133 |
| 2007 | 2,636 | 1,427 | 63 | 4,127 |
| 2008 | 2,692 | 1,450 | 64 | 4,206 |
| 2009 | 2,774 | 1,591 | 66 | 4,430 |
| 2010 4 | 2,776 | 1,602 | 64 | 4,443 |
Notes:
Data comes from agency 113 monthly submissions and covers total end-of-year civilian employment of full-time permanent, temporary, part-time, and intermittent employees. Executive branch includes the Postal Service, and, beginning in 1970, includes various disadvantaged youth and worker-trainee programs. Uniformed Military Personnel data comes from the Department of Defense.
Excludes 7,411 project employees in 1963 and 406 project employees in 1964 for the public works acceleration program.
On Jan. 1, 1969, 42,000 civilian technicians of the Army and Air Force National Guard converted by law from State to Federal employment status. They are included in the Federal employment figures in this table starting with 1969.
