Good government group hopes federal workforce report serves as a future baseline amid tumult

Two-thirds of federal employees were engaged and satisfied with their jobs during the last year of the Biden administration, setting a litmus test for President Donald Trump as his administration seeks to eliminate agencies and remove swaths of the government workforce. 

The Partnership for Public Service’s annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government ranking reported an engagement and satisfaction score of 67.7 out of 100 for federal workers, which is one of the highest since the nonpartisan good government group began publishing the data in 2003 and is two points higher than in 2023. 

“Against the backdrop of a new presidential administration and dozens of executive orders that seek to downsize and politicize our nonpartisan, merit-based civil service, this new data could not come at a more critical time,” Partnership president and CEO Max Stier said in a statement. “Employee engagement is not about happy employees, but having an engaged and high-performing workforce to keep us safe and deliver vital services. Rather than an arbitrary and thoughtless workforce downsizing exercise, we encourage the Trump administration to use these insights to help strengthen and invest in building a government that can more effectively serve the public.” 

The Partnership’s rankings are based on data from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which was last administered during spring and summer 2024, as well as other surveys of government workers. 

The engagement and satisfaction score is based on responses to the following questions: “I recommend my organization as a good place to work;” “considering everything, how satisfied are you with your job;” “considering everything, how satisfied are you with your organization?” 

For the 13th year in a row, NASA earned the top spot for best place to work among large agencies with an engagement and satisfaction score of 81.6. 

EPA, which moved from the midsize to large category because of workforce increases, notched the No. 2 spot with a score of 79.9. Anticipated layoffs at the agency have not begun, but are expected to be sizable. 

Likewise, the General Services Administration, which is one of the top ranked midsize agencies, is currently undergoing reductions in force. 

For the second year in a row, the Homeland Security Department was the most improved large agency, increasing its score by 3.7 points to reach 65.1. Within DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s score rose 7.3 points to 62.7, which significantly contributed to the overall improvement. 

DHS is a rare agency that likely will experience increased hiring under the Trump administration to implement the president’s plans for increased immigration and border security. 

The National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration scored high — 81.4 and 79.1, respectively — but are anticipated to be facing layoffs under new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

The Social Security Administration remained last among large agencies with a score of 54.2 and is currently planning to lay off 7,000 employees in total, according to three employees familiar with the plans. 

The Bureau of Prisons scored last among large agency subcomponents, with a 41 out of 100 mark, and more than half of its workforce may face 25% pay cuts this year. 

The U.S. Agency for International Development scored second to last among midsize agencies with a tally of 63 points. That agency faced the earliest cuts from the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency.