Downsizing is going down the tubes, at least for the time being.
Fiscal year 1999 will be the last year of job cuts under the 1994 Federal Workforce Restructuring Act. The act requires the executive branch to cap employment at 1,882,300 for fiscal year 1999. This year the act requires capping employment at 1,922,300.
Eight of the executive branch's 14 departments will actually have more employees in fiscal 1999 than in fiscal 1997, according to President Clinton's budget proposal.
The Commerce Department, which conducts the 2000 Census, and the Justice Department will experience the biggest gains in employment, while the Defense Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will cut the most jobs.
Since the law's inception, Defense agencies have eliminated the most positions, but the Office of Personnel Management has lost the largest percentage of its workforce.
Civilian Employment by Agency
(in thousands of full-time equivalents)
| Agency | 1993 | 1997 |
1999 (est.) |
Change: 1993 to 1999 (FTE's) |
Change: 1993 to 1999 (%) |
| Agriculture* | 115.6 | 98.5 | 97.1 | -18.6 | -16.1% |
| Commerce | 36.7 | 32.6 | 44.2 | +7.4 | +20.2% |
| Defense | 931.3 | 745.8 | 708.5 | -222.8 | -23.9% |
| Education | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.6 | -0.4 | -8.0% |
| Energy | 20.6 | 17.3 | 16.6 | -4.0 | -19.3% |
| HHS* | 65.0 | 57.6 | 59.8 | -5.1 | -7.9% |
| SSA | 65.4 | 65.2 | 63.9 | -1.5 | -2.3% |
| HUD | 13.6 | 11.0 | 10.0 | -3.6 | -26.7% |
| Interior | 79.3 | 65.7 | 69.1 | -10.2 | -12.9% |
| Justice | 99.4 | 111.0 | 125.4 | +26.0 | +26.1% |
| Labor | 18.3 | 15.9 | 17.0 | -1.3 | -7.2% |
| State | 26.0 | 22.4 | 23.2 | -2.8 | -10.9% |
| Transportation | 70.3 | 62.5 | 65.9 | -4.5 | -6.3% |
| Treasury | 166.1 | 145.5 | 147.9 | -18.2 | -10.9% |
| VA* | 232.4 | 211.5 | 203.9 | -28.5 | -12.3% |
| EPA | 18.6 | 17.0 | 18.4 | -0.2 | -1.1% |
| GSA | 20.6 | 14.5 | 14.0 | -6.6 | -32.2% |
| NASA | 25.7 | 20.1 | 18.7 | -7.0 | -27.3% |
| OPM | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3.0 | -3.2 | -51.6% |
| Total | 2,155.2 | 1,834.7 | 1,824.2 | -331.1 | -15.4% |
* The Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs have components that are exempt from FTE controls. In 1998, Agriculture has 2,098 exemptions, HHS has 268 and VA has 3,200.
Source: The Budget For Fiscal Year 1999, Office of Management and Budget
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