Federal workforce cuts leave a measurable mark on U.S. employment

The federal workforce remained substantially smaller through June 2026 than it was at the start of the current restructuring, according to the latest data from the Office of Personnel Management.

OPM’s Workforce Changes dashboard, last updated August 5, 2026, reports a net decline of 271,566 federal employees since January 20, 2025. The data are reported through June 2026.

That figure is not a direct count of layoffs. OPM defines the change as accessions — people entering federal service — minus separations, which can include resignations, retirements, transfers, terminations and other personnel actions.

The contraction matters beyond the government payroll. A smaller workforce can affect the speed of benefit decisions, regulatory reviews, inspections, diplomatic work and other services, although the available data do not establish a uniform service impact across all agencies.

What the newest OPM number measures

OPM attributes the decline to workforce-reshaping measures that included a federal hiring freeze, early-retirement incentives, reductions in force and the Deferred Resignation Program.

The dashboard lists 139,928 employees as having taken the Deferred Resignation Program. OPM says additional program actions may still be processed as agencies complete their records, so the totals may change in later updates.

OPM also warns that some June 2026 Department of War data are incomplete because a processing change prevented some components from submitting their information. The agency says affected visuals and downloads may be revised, while non-Department of War data are unaffected.

GAO provides an independent benchmark

A June 17, 2026 report from the Government Accountability Office offers a separate measure of the contraction. GAO reviewed 22 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies that supplied full-year data and found that their combined workforce was nearly 256,000 employees smaller in early January 2026 than at the end of December 2024 — an 11.3% decline.

GAO’s comparison is an independent benchmark, not a June 2026 headcount. Its data collection covered June 29, 2025, through January 10, 2026, and included agency-reported employees in pay status. GAO also accounted for employees shifting between active and nonpay status.

The OPM and GAO figures should not be treated as contradictory. OPM’s number covers January 20, 2025, through June 2026 and uses an administrative workforce-change dataset based on accessions and separations. GAO compares workforce levels at two different points and covers only the 22 agencies that supplied the requested information. The Small Business Administration and USAID were not included in GAO’s agency-submitted data, although GAO said OPM data showed substantial declines at both.

Departures outpaced hiring

GAO found that the 22 agencies recorded 377,722 separations and 127,360 hires during the period it examined. The departures included retirements, resignations, deferred resignations, transfers, terminations, removals and RIF-related separations.

Most separations were not involuntary. GAO reported that 83% involved retirements or resignations, including about 129,000 employees who left after taking a deferred resignation offer. Fourteen percent involved terminations or removals, while about 2% were separations through a reduction in force.

That distinction matters for workers and the public. The data show a rapid reduction in headcount, but they do not mean every departure was forced or that every eliminated position reflected misconduct or poor performance.

Where the losses were concentrated

The reductions were uneven across agencies. GAO reported declines ranging from about 1% at the Department of Homeland Security to 45.6% at the Department of Education. Other large percentage declines included the General Services Administration at 36.8%, the Office of Personnel Management at 33.9%, the National Science Foundation at 32.5%, the Department of Housing and Urban Development at 30.5% and the Department of Energy at 29.4%.

Eighteen of the 22 agencies had declines greater than 10%. That pattern suggests federal job opportunities are unlikely to return in one national wave; hiring is more likely to vary by mission, agency and funding.

Hiring may return selectively

Federal News Network reported that the State Department launched a Foreign Service recruitment campaign after the department’s earlier staffing cuts. The report said the department hired a contractor to help recruit candidates for the Foreign Service Officer Test, while a senior official had previously told lawmakers that the department did not plan to reinstate laid-off employees or staff still on paid administrative leave.

The State Department example does not establish that the federal government is broadly rebuilding. It does show how an agency can recruit for selected missions after eliminating positions when operational needs continue. Rehiring also may not immediately replace lost institutional knowledge, especially when experienced employees are not automatically returned to their former roles.

Government Executive has separately reported staffing reductions at OPM, another deferred-resignation effort and delays involving retirement processing. Those reports illustrate why workforce reductions can create capacity concerns inside the agencies responsible for delivering public services, even when agencies say they expect modernization or technology to offset some staffing losses.

What a RIF means for affected workers

A reduction in force, or RIF, is a formal federal process for eliminating positions because of reorganization, reduced funding or reduced workload. It is different from an individual disciplinary action based on misconduct or performance.

OPM’s RIF guidance directs affected employees to agency-specific notices and transition information. Depending on the circumstances, workers may need to review priority consideration, reassignment, severance, retirement eligibility and unemployment-benefit rules. The details can vary by appointment type, tenure, veteran status, service history and the agency’s procedures.

What to watch next

The clearest indicators will be future OPM monthly updates, revisions tied to additional Deferred Resignation Program processing and agency-specific hiring announcements. It will also be important to see whether hiring begins to exceed separations and whether agencies report service delays, backlogs or other capacity gaps.

For now, the evidence supports a narrower conclusion: federal employment has fallen sharply, but the exact size of the decline depends on the measurement period, agency coverage and dataset. Any recovery is likely to be uneven, shaped by mission-specific hiring rather than a return to every position eliminated during the cuts.

Sources

• OPM Workforce Changes dashboard
• GAO federal workforce report
• OPM Reductions in Force guidance
• Federal News Network State Department report

Look for updates to this story

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