The True Size of the Government Workforce is Unimaginable

Quick Overview

The true size of the federal government's workforce, when factoring in contract and grant employees, is dramatically larger than the official civilian employee count, totaling approximately 11.3 million full-time equivalent workers in 2023, with contract workers making up the largest segment at 5.22 million, which significantly outnumbers the 2.1 million direct civil service employees.

Key Points: The federal government's total full-time equivalent workforce reached 11.3 million in FY 2023, dwarfing the 2.1 million direct civil service employees. Contract employees constitute the largest portion of the federal workforce, accounting for 5.22 million FTEs in 2023, a number that has remained steady since 2020. Federal military personnel decreased significantly from 2.14 million in 1984 to 1.18 million in 2023. The narrative often focuses on the 3 million federal employees (civilian, military, postal), but the 5.22 million contract workers and 2.31 million grant workers are essentially extensions of government work. Local government employment has grown substantially over the last 60+ years to 15 million, while federal government employment has remained relatively flat when only counting direct employees. The speaker argues that the distinction between a government employee and a contractor paid by the government is often meaningless for tax and resource allocation discussions, as the government wields coercive power over both.

Context: This video analyzes the actual scope of the United States federal government's workforce by moving beyond the commonly cited official figures of civilian employees to include contract and grant employees, using data sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) via FRED, spanning from 1984 to 2023.

Detailed Analysis

The speaker contends that the true size of the federal government's workforce is much larger than the commonly reported 3 million direct employees (civilian, military, postal). By incorporating contract and grant employees, the total full-time equivalent (FTE) federal workforce reached 11.3 million in 2023. The largest component is contract workers at 5.22 million FTEs, which has been stable since 2020. Grant-funded workers totaled 2.31 million, and direct civil service employees were 2.1 million, with military personnel at 1.18 million. This 11.3 million figure is compared to state government (5.5 million) and local government (15 million) employment, showing that state and local workforces have grown much faster than the federal workforce over the last 75 years. The speaker emphasizes that the distinction between a direct employee and a contractor paid by the government is often irrelevant for assessing coercive power or resource drain, as contractors are essentially extensions of the government, funded by taxpayer money, and often lack the same accountability as direct employees. The speaker concludes that roughly 10% of the US population is employed by some level of government, and the government's massive funding of these contract roles represents a net drain on wealth.