Federal Employment Is Finally Back to Pre-Sequester Levels

Government Executive reports:

Federal agencies have started hiring at a significant clip following years of cutting their rolls, bringing total federal employment back to levels not seen since across-the-board budget cuts went into effect.

Agencies have added 41,000 employees in the last year, including 3,000 in July. Including the U.S. Postal Service, the federal government employed 2.79 million workers at the end of last month, the highest number since April 2013, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Federal employment has dropped precipitously since the 2011 Budget Control Act triggered sequestration in March 2013, bottoming out at 2,726,000 civilian workers in May 2014. That marked the lowest number of federal employees at any point in the Obama administration and in the past 10 years. Consecutive two-year budget deals, struck in late 2013 and late 2015, have staved off the full impact of BCA spending caps and allowed agencies to start hiring again.

The monopolist grows... and grows.