Trump Cuts Federal Labor Force to Lowest Level Since the 1960s as Private Sector Surges
The White House touted on Wednesday that the total number of federal employees dropped to its lowest level since 1966.
Meanwhile, on the private sector side, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 130,000 new jobs for the month as the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.3 percent.
CNBC’s Rick Santelli noted the new jobs number was twice what economists were anticipating.
🚨 NEW: The US economy ADDED 130,000 jobs in January, SMASHING expectations! 📈
The unemployment rate FELL to 4.3%! 📉 pic.twitter.com/AVtINFstaV
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) February 11, 2026
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media, “In President [Donald] Trump’s second term, 615,000 private sector jobs have been added while federal employment has declined to its lowest level since 1966 — and the lowest level in recorded history as a share of the total workforce.”
In President Trump’s second term, 615,000 private sector jobs have been added while federal employment has declined to its lowest level since 1966 — and the lowest level in recorded history as a share of the total workforce. pic.twitter.com/GD2HMCtcui
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 11, 2026
The BLS said, “In January, federal government employment continued to decline (-34,000) as some federal employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer in 2025 came off federal payrolls. Since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment is down by 327,000, or 10.9 percent.”
The total federal workforce is now just under 2.7 million.
This is insane…
The number of federal government employees is now at it’s lowest level in 50+ years.
Dropped off a cliff after Trump was elected. pic.twitter.com/zZu2jzUC8S
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) February 11, 2026
Under former President Joe Biden, the size of the federal workforce increased by 6 percent, with the total topping 3 million in the fall of 2024 for the first time since 1990, according to USA Facts.
Heritage Foundation chief economist E.J. Antoni responded to the new jobs numbers, posting on X, “THIS is the real story out of today’s jobs report – Trump was handed an economy that was losing private sector jobs and adding gov’t payrolls, but he successfully flipped the script, and one year later it’s all private sector growth while cutting gov’t jobs.”
THIS is the real story out of today’s jobs report – Trump was handed an economy that was losing private sector jobs and adding gov’t payrolls, but he successfully flipped the script, and one year later it’s all private sector growth while cutting gov’t jobs: pic.twitter.com/R5r5EHgzqk
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) February 11, 2026
Trump began his second term by slashing tens of thousands of workers from the federal payroll as part of his Department of Government Efficiency initiative headed by Elon Musk.
Reuters reported in November that DOGE is no longer a “centralized entity” in the administration.
But White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in an email to Reuters, “President Trump was given a clear mandate to reduce waste, fraud and abuse across the federal government, and he continues to actively deliver on that commitment.”
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