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Partnership research unveils latest federal workforce trends in two mission-support fields

Federal information technology and human resources employees are critical to ensuring our government has the talent and tools it needs to effectively serve the public.

Building on the latest installment of our Fed Figures series, we took a close look at these parts of the federal workforce and found both good news and cause for alarm: While the federal HR and IT sectors grew during fiscal 2023, they lack the young talent to ensure future success.

IT and HR Federal Workforce Trends – Size

The government’s IT and HR workforces have steadily grown over the years.

In fiscal 2023, the federal IT workforce increased by nearly 5% from the previous fiscal year, and the HR employee count grew by almost 10% from the previous fiscal year. Both increases outpaced growth across the entire federal workforce, which increased by just over 4% during fiscal 2023. This growth in the IT and HR fields occurred partly because the Biden administration supported surge hiring across major agencies so they could implement important legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act.

IT and HR Federal Workforce Trends – Age

Overall, the federal IT and HR workforces skew older. This trend is good for institutional knowledge and continuity, but an ominous sign for the future. Agencies must do a better job recruiting and retaining younger workers in these fields to prepare for future challenges.

In fiscal 2023, just over 4% of federal IT employees and 6% of federal HR employees were under the age of 30. Both figures were lower than the government-wide percentage of employees under 30—nearly 7.5%.

On the flip side, employees ages 30-49 constituted 44% of the IT workforce and 52% of the HR workforce—a strong midcareer demographic that has supported, and will support, agency operations over time and across presidential administrations.

Still, the high percentage of employees over 50 in both the IT and HR fields highlights the need for robust succession planning to ensure a smooth transition as these employees near retirement.

New hires, departures and attrition

In fiscal 2023, new hires far exceeded departures in the IT and HR fields. The attrition rate in fiscal 2023 was 4.5% for the IT workforce and 5.4% for HR employees— figures that were lower than the government-wide average of 5.9%.

Agencies are successfully retaining their IT and HR talent, which will help our government provide its employees with the resources, personnel and support they need to innovate and develop better public services.

IT and HR Federal Workforce Trends – Race and Sex

Our government’s HR and IT workforces are more racially diverse than the federal workforce at large. In terms of sex, the story is mixed.

In fiscal 2023, 40% of IT civil servants identified as people of color—a slightly higher percentage than those who identified similarly across the overall federal workforce. In addition, 51% of federal HR employees identified as people of color.

On the other hand, men made up 74% of the IT workforce but just 31% of the HR workforce. In fiscal 2023, there was more balance in the federal workforce as a whole: Women composed 45% and men composed 55% of all full-time career civil servants.

Conclusion

IT and HR employees are critical to a well-functioning government. While it is good news that both workforces grew and retained their employees in fiscal 2023, it is imperative that our government recruit young, diverse talent in these fields to ensure that agencies serve the public efficiently and effectively in the years to come.

Unless otherwise noted, data in this analysis are for full-time, nonseasonal, permanent civilian employees of the executive branch in IT (2210) and HR (0201 and 0203) positions as of September 2023. Percentages throughout may not appear to add up to 100 due to rounding.

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