[Analytical Perspectives]
[Special Analyses and Presentations]
[11. Federal Employment and Compensation]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[[Page 287]]
11. FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT AND COMPENSATION
This section provides information on civilian and military employment,
and personnel compensation and benefits in the Executive, Legislative,
and Judicial branches. A comparison of Federal employment levels, state
and local government employment, and the United States population
appears in the Historical Tables which is published as a separate volume
of the President's Budget.
Measuring Federal Employment
Civilian employment is measured on the basis of full-time equivalents
(FTEs). One FTE is equal to one work year (see OMB Circular A-11,
Section 32). Put simply, one full-time employee counts as one FTE, and
two half-time employees also count as one FTE. However, data shown for
military are average strengths, not FTEs. Federal employment can also be
measured by actual positions filled.
Total Federal Employment Levels
The tables that follow show total Federal employment in all branches
of Government, as well as the U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate
Commission, and active duty uniformed military personnel. Two of this
year's tables also provide a breakout of Commissioned Corps officers
employed by the Public Health Service (PHS) in the Department of Health
and Human Services and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) within the Department of Commerce. Table 11-1
provides Executive Branch FTE totals from 2000 through 2004. Table 11-2
displays total Federal employment as measured by actual positions
filled, i.e., the total number of employees, whether full-time, part-
time or intermittent, at the end of the fiscal year. Table 11-3 shows
total Federal employment as measured on an FTE basis.
Department of Homeland Security
On November 25, 2002, the President signed the Homeland Security Act
of 2002 (Public Law 107-296). The Act initiates the most substantial
reorganization of the Federal Government since the 1940's transferring
FTE from ten major Federal agencies to the newly-established Department
of Homeland Security (DHS). The President's Budget displays FTE
estimates for DHS on a three-year comparable basis. The DHS FTE totals
reflect estimates of 142 thousand civilians and 37 thousand military (US
Coast Guard) in fiscal year 2004 for a total estimated strength of 179
thousand FTEs. The net increase of 23 thousand Executive Branch civilian
FTE from 2002 actuals to the 2004 estimate is largely due to the
creation of the Transportation Security Administration, which will be
incorporated into the Department of Homeland Security.
Personnel Compensation and Benefits
Table 11-4 displays personnel compensation and benefits (in millions
of dollars) for all branches of Government, as well as for military
personnel.
Direct compensation of the Federal work force includes base pay and
premium pay, such as overtime. In addition, it includes other cash
components, such as geographic pay differentials (i.e., locality pay,
and special pay adjustments for law enforcement officers), recruitment
and relocation bonuses, retention allowances, performance awards, and
cost-of-living and overseas allowances.
In the case of military personnel, compensation includes basic pay,
special and incentive pays (including enlistment and reenlistment
bonuses), and allowances for clothing, housing, and subsistence.
Related compensation in the form of personnel benefits for current
employees consists of the cost to Government agencies (as an employer)
primarily for health insurance, life insurance, Social Security (old
age, survivors, disability, and health insurance) and contributions to
the retirement funds to finance future retirement benefits. Compensation
for former personnel includes outlays for retirement pay benefits, and
the Government's share of the cost of health and life insurance.
The Budget proposes a new approach to federal pay. Consistent with the
Administration's emphasis on program performance, the 2004 pay proposal
combines a two percent across-the-board increase with a performance
component. $500 million will be set aside governmentwide to allow
managers to increase pay beyond annual raises to reward top-performing
employees with a permanent increase in their base pay. The
Administration also proposes to reform the pay structure of its senior
managers by increasing the limit on pay and replacing the current six-
tier system with a pay band so that agencies can tie these managers'
compensation more closely to their performance.
The Administration proposes legislation to require agencies to pay the
full Government share of the accruing cost of retirement for current
CSRS, CIA and Foreign Service employees, and the Cost Guard, Public
Health Service and NOAA Commissioned Corps. The legislation also
requires agencies to pay the full accruing cost of post-retirement
health benefits for current civilian employees who are enrolled in the
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and the post-retirement health
costs of Medicare eligible retirees (and their dependents/survivors) of
the Uniformed Services (DoD, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and
NOAA Commissioned Corps). Pending approved legislation, the 2004 Budget
includes the realignment of these incremental costs to the agencies as
memorandum entries.
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Table 11-1. FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
(Civilian employment as measured by Full-Time Equivalents, in thousands)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actual Estimate Change: 2000 to
--------------------------------------------- 2004
Agency -------------------
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 FTE's Percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cabinet agencies:
Agriculture.................................. 95.1 96.9 97.0 99.2 98.0 2.9 3.0%
Commerce \1\................................. 112.7 36.4 34.9 38.9 38.5 n/a n/a
Defense-military functions................... 660.3 649.9 649.9 642.8 635.8 -24.5 -3.7%
Education.................................... 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.6 4.6 0.0 0.0%
Energy....................................... 15.6 15.6 15.8 16.3 16.1 0.5 3.2%
Health and Human Services.................... 54.8 56.1 59.0 61.0 60.9 6.1 11.1%
Homeland Security \2\........................ 0.0 0.0 81.3 144.9 142.2 n/a n/a
Housing and Urban Development................ 10.1 10.1 10.0 10.5 10.5 0.4 4.0%
Interior..................................... 67.3 68.7 70.3 70.0 70.3 3.0 4.5%
Justice \3\.................................. 122.8 124.2 97.3 106.0 112.0 n/a n/a
Labor........................................ 16.3 16.5 17.0 17.3 17.5 1.2 7.4%
State........................................ 27.3 27.7 28.6 29.5 30.1 2.8 10.3%
Transportation \3\........................... 63.0 63.4 61.2 59.2 60.0 n/a n/a
Treasury \3\................................. 143.7 145.0 115.9 116.7 117.5 n/a n/a
Veterans Affairs............................. 202.6 206.9 208.9 209.0 214.0 11.4 5.6%
Other agencies--excluding Postal Service:
Agency for International Development......... 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.5 0.1 4.2%
Broadcasting Board of Governors.............. 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.5 0.1 4.2%
Corps of Engineers--Civil Works.............. 24.8 24.7 25.0 24.8 24.8 0.0 0.0%
Environmental Protection Agency.............. 17.7 17.5 17.5 17.6 17.9 0.2 1.1%
EEOC......................................... 2.9 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.8 -0.1 -3.4%
FEMA \4\..................................... 4.6 4.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 n/a n/a
FDIC/RTC..................................... 7.1 6.4 6.0 5.7 5.6 -1.5 -21.1%
General Services Administration.............. 14.0 14.0 12.4 12.4 12.4 -1.6 -11.4%
NASA......................................... 18.4 18.7 18.7 19.1 18.9 0.5 2.7%
National Archives and Records Administration. 2.5 2.6 2.8 2.8 2.9 0.4 16.0%
National Labor Relations Board............... 1.9 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 0.1 5.3%
National Science Foundation.................. 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 0.1 8.3%
Nuclear Regulatory Commission................ 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.0 0.2 7.1%
Office of Personnel Management............... 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.0 0.2 7.1%
Peace Corps.................................. 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.3 0.3 30.0%
Railroad Retirement Board.................... 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 -0.1 -8.3%
Securities and Exchange Commission........... 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.7 0.9 32.1%
Small Business Administration................ 4.3 4.1 4.0 3.9 3.9 -0.4 -9.3%
Smithsonian Institution...................... 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.6 5.8 0.8 16.0%
Social Security Administration............... 62.4 62.7 63.1 63.6 64.6 2.2 3.5%
Tennessee Valley Authority................... 13.2 13.2 13.5 13.6 13.4 0.2 1.5%
All other small agencies..................... 16.4 14.7 15.1 15.8 15.9 -0.5 -3.0%
----------------------------------------------------------------
Total, Executive Branch civilian employment \5\ 1,808.2 1,731.7 1,749.9 1,826.7 1,831.0 22.8 1.3%
Subtotal, Defense.............................. 660.3 649.9 649.9 642.8 635.8 -24.5 -3.7%
Subtotal, Non-Defense.......................... 1,147.9 1,081.8 1,100.0 1,183.9 1,195.2 47.3 4.1%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Department of Commerce FY 2000 data in as outlier due to 2000 Census workload.
\2\ Department of Homeland Security FTEs shown on a three-year comparable basis. See the introduction to this
chapter for an explanation of the growth in DHS FTEs.
\3\ Transfers to the Department of Homeland Security prevent meaningful 2000 to 2004 comparisons.
\4\ FEMA realigned under the Department of Homeland Security.
\5\ Totals may not add due to rounding.
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Table 11-2. TOTAL FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT
(As measured by total positions filled)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actual as of September 30 Change: 2000 to 2002
Description ----------------------------------------------------------
2000 2001 2002 Positions Percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive branch civilian employment:
All agencies except Postal Service and Postal Rate
Commission:
Full-time permanent.............................. 1,578,495 1,595,801 1,632,663 54,168 3.4%
Other than full-time permanent................... 199,643 196,009 185,597 -14,046 -7.0%
----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal....................................... 1,778,138 1,791,810 1,818,260 40,122 2.3%
==========================================================
Postal Service: \1\
Full-time permanent................................ 666,528 661,452 645,758 -20,770 -3.1%
Other than full-time permanent..................... 194,249 186,418 165,933 -28,316 -14.6%
----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal......................................... 860,777 847,870 811,691 -49,086 -5.7%
----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Executive branch civilian employment..... 2,638,915 2,639,680 2,629,951 -8,964 -0.3%
==========================================================
Uniformed Services: \2\
Department of Defense.............................. 1,384,338 1,385,116 1,411,634 27,296 2.0%
Department of Transportation (Coast Guard)......... 36,157 36,580 38,238 2,081 5.8%
Commissioned Corps (PHS, NOAA)).................... 5,843 6,027 6,221 378 6.5%
----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, military personnel..................... 1,426,338 1,427,723 1,456,093 29,755 2.1%
----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Executive Branch..................... 4,065,253 4,067,403 4,086,044 20,791 0.5%
==========================================================
Legislative branch:
Full-time permanent................................ 11,970 11,856 12,097 127 1.1%
Other than full-time permanent..................... 19,187 18,583 18,789 -398 -2.1%
----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Legislative Branch..................... 31,157 30,439 30,886 -271 -0.9%
==========================================================
Judicial Branch:
Full-time permanent................................ 28,938 30,478 31,286 2,348 8.1%
Other than full-time permanent..................... 3,248 3,332 3,413 165 5.1%
----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Judicial Branch........................ 32,186 33,810 34,699 2,513 7.8%
==========================================================
Grand total \3\...................................... 4,128,596 4,131,652 4,151,629 23,033 0.6%
==========================================================
ADDENDUM
Executive branch civilian personnel (excluding Postal
Service):
DOD civilians--Military functions.................. 651,247 647,048 644,817 -6,430 -1.0%
All other executive branch......................... 1,126,891 1,144,762 1,173,443 46,552 4.1%
----------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................ 1,778,138 1,791,810 1,818,260 40,122 2.3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes Postal Rate Commission.
\2\ Excludes reserve components.
\3\ Includes Summer Aides, Stay-in-school, Junior Fellowship, Worker-Trainee Opportunity, and disadvantage youth
programs.
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Table 11-3. TOTAL FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT
(As measured by Full-Time Equivalents)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimate Change: 2002 to
2002 ------------------------ 2004
Description actual ------------------
2003 2004 FTE's Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive branch civilian personnel:
All agencies except Postal Service and Defense................................................. 1,100,022 1,183,979 1,195,189 95,167 8.7%
Defense-Military functions (civilians)......................................................... 649,875 642,759 635,781 -14,094 -2.2%
------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, excluding Postal Service........................................................... 1,749,897 1,826,738 1,830,970 81,073 4.6%
Postal Service \1\............................................................................. 809,946 799,537 786,825 -23,121 -2.9%
------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Executive Branch civilian personnel................................................ 2,559,843 2,626,275 2,617,795 57,952 2.3%
======================================================
Executive Branch Uniformed Services: \2\
Department of Defense.......................................................................... 1,414,355 1,392,379 1,390,776 -23,579 -1.7%
Homeland Security (Coast Guard)................................................................ 37,112 37,249 37,255 143 0.4%
Commissioned Corps (PHS, NOAA)................................................................. 5,984 6,207 6,259 275 4.6%
------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, uniformed military personnel....................................................... 1,457,451 1,435,835 1,434,290 -23,161 -1.6%
------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, Executive Branch................................................................... 4,017,294 4,062,110 4,052,085 34,791 0.9%
======================================================
Legislative Branch: \3\ Total FTE................................................................ 31,390 32,167 33,082 1,692 5.4%
Judicial branch: Total FTE....................................................................... 33,205 35,125 34,966 1,761 5.3%
======================================================
Grand total.................................................................................. 4,081,889 4,129,402 4,120,133 38,244 0.9%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes Postal Rate Commission.
\2\ Military personnel on active duty. Excludes reserve components. Data shown are average strengths, not FTEs.
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TABLE 11-4. PERSONNEL COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
(In millions of dollars)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimate Change: 2002 to 2004
Description 2002 actual -----------------------------------------------------------
2003 2004 Dollars Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Civilian personnel costs:
Executive Branch (excluding Postal Service):
Direct compensation:
DOD--military functions............................................... 35,478 35,787 37,014 1,536 4.3%
All other executive branch............................................ 69,019 74,561 79,812 10,793 15.6%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, direct compensation....................................... 104,497 110,348 116,826 12,329 11.8%
Personnel benefits:
DOD--military functions............................................... 8,096 8,414 9,302 1,206 14.9%
All other executive branch............................................ 28,038 29,979 30,742 2,704 9.6%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, personnel benefits........................................ 36,134 38,393 40,044 3,910 10.8%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal, executive branch........................................ 140,631 148,741 156,870 16,239 11.5%
===========================================================================
Postal Service:
Direct compensation..................................................... 36,877 37,496 38,165 1,288 3.5%
Personnel benefits...................................................... 12,670 13,814 14,326 1,656 13.1%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal.............................................................. 49,547 51,310 52,491 2,944 5.9%
===========================================================================
Legislative Branch: \1\
Direct compensation..................................................... 1,521 1,712 1,812 291 19.1%
Personnel benefits...................................................... 366 443 455 89 24.3%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal.............................................................. 1,887 2,155 2,267 380 20.1%
===========================================================================
Judicial Branch:
Direct compensation..................................................... 2,214 2,557 2,613 399 18.0%
Personnel benefits...................................................... 591 658 708 117 19.8%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal.............................................................. 2,805 3,215 3,321 516 18.4%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, civilian personnel costs....................................... 194,870 205,421 214,949 20,079 10.3%
===========================================================================
Military personnel costs:
DOD--Military Functions:
Direct compensation..................................................... 60,813 61,737 65,640 4,827 7.9%
Personnel benefits \2\.................................................. 23,065 29,420 30,248 7,183 31.1%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal.............................................................. 83,878 91,157 95,888 12,010 14.3%
===========================================================================
All other executive branch, uniformed personnel:
Direct compensation....................................................... 1,933 2,016 2,148 215 11.1%
Personnel benefits........................................................ 298 504 584 286 96.0%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal................................................................ 2,231 2,520 2,732 501 22.5%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, military personnel costs........................................... 86,109 93,677 98,620 12,511 14.5%
===========================================================================
Grand total, personnel costs................................................ 280,979 299,098 313,569 32,590 11.6%
===========================================================================
ADDENDUM
Former Civilian Personnel:
Retired pay for former personnel............................................ 49,945 52,076 53,768 3,823 7.7%
Government payment for Annuitants:
Employee health benefits.............................................. 6,071 6,759 7,456 1,385 22.8%
Employee life insurance............................................... 33 34 35 2 6.1%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Former Civilian Personnel............................................. 56,049 58,869 61,259 5,210 9.3%
===========================================================================
Former Military personnel:
Retired pay for former personnel.......................................... 35,188 36,056 36,870 1,682 4.8%
Military annuitants health benefits....................................... 0 4,445 4,765 4,765 n/a
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Excludes members and officers of the Senate.
\2\ Increases in 2003 and 2004 are largely due to legislation requiring payments to the Uniformed Services retiree health care fund.