Federal Government Loses Over 317,000 Jobs in 2025

The final numbers are in, confirming a significant shrinkage of the federal government in 2025. How many employees left this field over the year, and what were the primary reasons? Read on for all of the details.

Massive Downsizing of Federal Government in 2025 Confirmed

Over 317,000 federal employees left their government positions in 2025, according to a new report out of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The bulk of these workers accepted voluntary buyouts and early retirements. These offers were part of President Donald Trump's initiative to downsize the government.

One of Trump's first actions when taking back the Oval Office in January was to reduce the size of the government through the newly created U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The president appointed billionaire Elon Musk to head up DOGE and its initiatives. The formal goal of DOGE was to eliminate what the Trump administration called "waste, bloat, and insularity" in the federal bureaucracy.

While DOGE is no longer an official government agency, its launch earlier in the year spearheaded the massive reduction in the size of the government through large-scale layoffs and voluntary exits. Although not all of the numbers were confirmed, most estimates detail that tens of thousands of employees were fired. The White House and OPM did not provide firm data on how many jobs were impacted when DOGE was making the cuts.

Some of these employees were new to their jobs. Others were still in their probationary period after being recently promoted. In addition, some workers lost their jobs as part of the White House crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. There were also a good number of employees who left the federal workforce after being forced to relocate.

The federal government is the nation's largest employer, making these losses even more impactful. While a majority of the job losses were located in the Washington, D.C. area, the reductions touched nearly every part of the country to some degree.

The Trump administration reported that DOGE saved the country $214 billion over the course of the year; however, the accuracy of those numbers has been disputed by many economic experts. Musk only served for a few months, leaving the administration in May. On his way out, Musk claimed that DOGE succeeded in the goals to “detect fraud, slash waste, and modernize broken and outdated systems."

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was one of the hardest hit agencies, losing about 25% of its 100,000-person workforce in 2025. Some agencies were completely shut down as part of the downsizing. This includes the controversial decision to eliminate the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID).

The efforts to reduce the size of the government were met with criticism and action by several labor unions and liberal activists. Some of these groups were initially successful in securing court orders to block the DOGE layoffs and to reinstate workers to their roles. However, many of these victories were later overturned by higher courts.

Where Does the Workforce Stand Now and What is Ahead?

The recent OPM report also noted that the federal government hired 68,000 people in 2025. This brings the total number of civilian employees in the federal workforce to approximately 2.1 million people.

OPM Director Scott Kupor outlined the future of federal hiring expectations in November of 2025. Kupor did not indicate how many jobs were still potentially on the chopping block in 2026. In the blog post, Kupor said that his agency's goal was to ensure the government has the right people in place to roll out the key goals of the Trump administration. He also said a goal was to eliminate "wasteful taxpayer expenses in areas that are inefficient, no longer required, or in direct contradiction of administration priorities."

Some of the changes instilled by DOGE were to centralize the hiring process while also reducing the number of hiring managers. OPM recently said that it is also evaluating how it utilizes contract workers in an effort to reduce expenses. It is anyone's guess how this will look going forward in the new year.

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