The Aporia · US government workforce drops to lowest level in 60 years after Trump purged hundreds of thousands of employees

US government workforce drops to lowest level in 60 years after Trump purged hundreds of thousands of employees

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Reyes, R. (2026, September 30). US government workforce drops to lowest level in 60 years after Trump purged hundreds of thousands of employees. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/world-news/us-federal-workforce-drops-to-lowest-level-in-60-years-after-trump-purged-hundreds-of-thousands/

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Quick Summary

The US federal workforce has decreased to approximately 2.7 million employees, marking its lowest level in six decades as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since January 2025, the government under President Trump's administration has reduced its workforce by over 300,000 people, or about 11%. Notable exceptions include no significant changes at the Department of Homeland Security and active military personnel numbering around 1.35 million, which were not included in the assessment. Despite these extensive cuts, federal spending on salaries remained close to $244 billion, only slightly more than during former President Joe Biden’s tenure.

Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In January 2025, under President Trump's second term, the US federal workforce dropped to approximately 2.7 million employees, the lowest level in 60 years according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This reduction marks a decrease of over 300,000 jobs since Trump returned to office, shrinking the workforce by about 11%. The majority of these cuts occurred within the first year of his second term. Notably excluded from this count are active military personnel (about 1.35 million) and intelligence agency employees (100,000 more).

Trump's campaign promise to reduce government size was fulfilled by giving Elon Musk free rein under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut jobs. While these measures aimed at saving money, they also led to significant downsizing in key agencies like the IRS and State Department. For example, revenue from IRS examinations fell 35%, from about $10 billion to $6.5 billion within a year due to workforce reductions.

Democrats criticized these cuts as attempts to intimidate government employees, with some claiming they could plunge society into chaos. However, supporters argue that the reduction targets inefficient or unnecessary departments, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and USAID.

Written for “US Government Workforce Reduction” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 27% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100

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Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100

“The articles describe different aspects of employment in the U.S., one focusing on job openings across all sectors while the other focuses specifically on the reduction in federal workforce under a particular administration.”

Union: CDC Lost a Third of Its Workforce In One Year Different event

Mother Jones

⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 60/100

“While both articles discuss significant reductions in government workforce during Trump's second term, Article A specifically focuses on CDC staff attrition, while Article B covers broader federal workforce reduction across the entire US government.”

Hegseth says US slashed 20pc of its military leadership cadre Different event

Dawn

Hedges 4 of 18 claims Outlet record 72/100

“Article A discusses overall federal workforce reduction under Trump, while Article B focuses specifically on a 20% cut to military leadership cadre as announced by Defense Secretary Hegseth.”

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Fox News

⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 69/100

“While both articles discuss the reduction of the US federal workforce under Trump, they describe different periods: Article A covers a longer period from January 2025 to 2026, while Article B focuses on the first year after Trump's return to office.”

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

27%

3 of 11 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans right

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

66/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Politics

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Ronny Reyes

65 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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All 65 articles by Ronny Reyes →

Claims (11 extracted, 3 hedged)

The US federal workforce has plunged to about 2.7 million employees under the Trump administration — the lowest level in 60 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. uncertain

workforce → plunge → Statistics

The government has shed more than 300,000 workers since President Trump returned to office in January 2025, shrinking the federal workforce by about 11%, according to the latest analysis from the BLS. uncertain

Trump → shed → BLS

The majority of the cuts occurred in the first year of Trump’s second term, with federal employment remaining at a consistent level through 2026. asserted

employment → occur → 2026

Active military personnel — which number about 1.35 million — and employees at America’s intelligence agencies — about 100,000 more employees — were not counted in the monthly assessment. asserted

which → number → assessment

The federal workforce surges during Census years — it hit 3.4 million in 2010 and nearly 3.2 million in 2020. But it previous hit a non-Census 30-year high of more than 3 million in January 2025, just as Trump was taking office. asserted

Trump → surge → office

Trump campaigned on a promise to shrink the federal government, with the president giving Elon Musk, the richest man on Earth, free reign to purge employee payrolls to find savings under his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). asserted

president → campaign → Efficiency

The cuts hit nearly every major federal agency, with the Departments of Education, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development. asserted

cuts → hit → Education

The Department of Homeland Security was a notable exception, with headcount barely changing since Trump took office and rolled out his anti-immigration policies. asserted

Trump → change → policies

The biggest cuts occurred at the end of September 2025, when more than 150,000 federal employees accepted buyouts from the government, resulting in the largest single-year exodus of civil servants in nearly 80 years. asserted

employees → occur → years

Despite the downsizing, the government has yet to see any notable savings. asserted

government → have → savings

The government spent close to $244 billion on federal salaries during Trump’s first year in office, 3% more than it did during the same period under former President Joe Biden, according to an analysis of daily spending figures released by the Treasury Department. uncertain

it → spend → Department

US government workforce drops to lowest level in 60 years after Trump purged hundreds of thousands of employees

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Claims (11 extracted, 3 hedged)