Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The number of federal government workers rose from 1.9 million to 2.1 million between 2004 and 2012, the USA Today reports, citing the Government Accountability Office.
Homeland Security grew nearly 4% annually on average between 2004 and 2012.
The GAO report, which was released Wednesday, found:
- From 2004 to 2012, the federal non-postal civilian workforce grew by 258,882 employees, from 1.88 million to 2.13 million (14 percent).
- Three agencies — the Departments of Defense (DOD), Homeland Security (DHS), and Veterans Affairs (VA) — accounted for about 94 percent of this increase. At DOD, officials said that converting certain positions from military to civilian, as well as the growth of the agency’s acquisition and cybersecurity workforce, contributed to this overall increase. At VA, officials said the increased demand for medical and health-related services for military veterans drove most of the growth in personnel levels. DHS officials said the increase in employment was due in large part to the nation’s border security requirements.
Departments with workforces that declined include the EPA, Small Business Administration and Office of Personnel Management.
