Profile of Recent Federal Government Hiring Trends

As a result of the 2008–2009 economic downturn and increased budget constraints, federal government hiring has been on the decline. With fewer opportunities to bring on new employees, it is critical for agencies to focus on hiring the most highly qualified individuals to meet the nation’s needs.

The Partnership for Public Service issued a great infographic on recent federal hiring.  Answering questions like who did the government hire in 2013 and how has the profile of this hiring class evolved from previous years?

The analysis performed by the Partnership for Public Service focused on recent hiring data for full-time, nonseasonal, permanent civilian employees hired in fiscal 2013 in executive branch agencies, excluding the U.S. Postal Service.

Key Findings

• The Department of Veterans Affairs hired the most new employees in government during fiscal 2013— 25,566—and brought on slightly more employees last year than in 2012.
• The class of newly hired employees in fiscal 2013 is slightly less racially diverse than the total federal workforce.
• More than 50 percent of new employees hired by the federal government in fiscal 2013 were under the age of 40.