Trump's Federal Workforce Shrinks by 10% in 2025

0:00On March 16, the federal workforce dropped by more than 10% in the first year of President Donald Trump's second term. New data from the Pew Research Center shows a net loss of nearly 238,000 employees in 2025. That's the biggest one-year shrink in recent memory, driven by quits, retirements, and layoffs. This came from a major push to cut with the administration calls and oversized bureaucracy. Agencies hid hardest, included the Department of Education, down 42.6% to under 2,500 workers, and the U.S. Agency. For international development, which lost over 92% of its staff, falling to just 370 people. Other cuts, targeted groups like the National Endowments for Arts and Humanities, a Merry Corps and the Small Business Administration, the changes mostly affected white collar jobs, with a 10.6% drop there compared to 6.7% for blue collar rolls. Younger workers under 35 saw their share slip from 18% to 16.8% of the workforce.

1:05Meanwhile, enforcement positions for border security actually grew. These moves followed calls from Trump allies to stream mine government and align it with policy goals. Officials aimed to reduce spending and make agencies more accountable to elected leaders. Now, with some selective hiring in areas like healthcare and technology, the government is rebuilding parts of its team. But it stays much leaner. Overall, matching promises to shrink Washington's reach and empower states and taxpayers.