**TRAC Special Advisory**
(also available at http://trac.syr.edu/media/newsadvisory.html)
Long-term Study of Federal Employees Discovers Major Shifts Since 1975
Federal Work Force Shrinks but Number of Lawyers, Criminal Investigators and
Prison Guards Surges
Changing Staffing Hits Some States Far Harder than Others
Syracuse, N.Y.—September 2—Major changes have occurred in the make up of
federal civilian workers during the last quarter of a century, according to
comprehensive employment data obtained and analyzed by the Transactional
Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).
Among the key findings:
• The overall number of federal civilian employees declined by one third in
relation to the nation's population between 1975 and 2000.
• During the same period, the per capita number of government lawyers jumped
by more than half, criminal investigators working for the federal agencies
increased by more than a
third, and employees in the federal prison system tripled.
• By contrast, air traffic controllers, highway safety experts and food and
safety inspectors substantially decreased both in per capita terms and in
actual counts. Government physicians also declined in relation to the
nation's growing population, although the raw number of doctors was slightly
higher than it was in 1975.
The analysis of data obtained by TRAC from the Office of Personnel Management
under the Freedom of Information Act also showed that the national cut back
in federal employees affected some states far more than others. In terms of
absolute numbers, a few states actually gained employees, including Florida,
North Carolina, Arizona, Vermont and West Virginia which grew in raw numbers
by 10 percent or more. In relation to population, the staffing declines
experienced by such states as California, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Texas
were substantially higher than the national average. Among the small number
of states ending up with more federal employees per capita were West
Virginia, Vermont and the District of Columbia. In recent years, the states
with the consistently lowest per capita number of federal employees were
Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Extensive information about most of the civilian employees of
government—where they work, what they do, how much they are paid and much
more—is available on TRAC's subscription services, TRACFED and FEDPROBE.The
work performed by the government is influenced by many factors such as
changes in the laws and the development of new technologies. But the basic
occupational make up of the men and women employed by the government is a
driving force in determining the kinds of work that the federal agencies can
accomplish.The substantial increase in government lawyers, investigators and
prison guards—in terms of both concrete head counts and as a proportion of
the total work force—thus suggests a significant shift in the basic purpose
of the federal government since 1975. This shift in purpose—dictated by the
policies developed under six presidents and a series of Congresses—was
underlined by the declines in occupations directly linked to providing
services such as improving public health and assuring safe transportation.
(TRAC, associated with Syracuse University, is a non-partisan organization
established in 1989 to provide the American people with comprehensive
information about the operations of the federal government. Its operations
have been supported by the university and a number of philanthropic
organizations including the Knight Foundation, the Rockefeller Family Fund,
the Open Society Institute, the Beldon Fund, and the New York Times Company
Foundation. Visit trac.syr.edu for more information and to inquire about a
free 30-day trial to the subscription area of the site.)
Susanna Virden
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
(970) 668-9640
(970) 668-9257
trac.syr.edu
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