Public sector employment in United States of America
United States of America: Public sector employment was 21,941 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Public sector employment in United States of America, 1994–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
The most recent figure for public sector employment in United States of America is 21,941, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public sector employment in United States of America peaked at 21,941 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 18,139, in 1997.
That places United States of America 1st out of 42 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Public sector employment in United States of America, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 18,310 | — |
| 1995 | 18,373 | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 18,238 | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 18,139 | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 18,397 | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 18,918 | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 19,256 | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 19,281 | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 19,622 | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 19,701 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 20,050 | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 20,413 | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 20,389 | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 21,053 | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 21,324 | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 21,228 | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 21,051 | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 20,566 | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 20,403 | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 20,286 | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 20,174 | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 20,637 | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 20,672 | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 20,886 | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 20,977 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 21,013 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 20,633 | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 20,693 | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 21,192 | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 21,591 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 21,776 | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 21,941 | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18,396 | 18,139 | 18,918 | 6 |
| 2000s | 20,232 | 19,256 | 21,324 | 10 |
| 2010s | 20,666 | 20,174 | 21,051 | 10 |
| 2020s | 21,304 | 20,633 | 21,941 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More work & labour data for United States of America
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 113,208 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 61.24 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 178,849 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 159,991 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 141,322 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 58.55 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.27 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.3372 % change on previous year (2027)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public sector employment in United States of America?
- Public sector employment in United States of America was 21,941 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest public sector employment recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 21,941 in 2025.
- What is the lowest public sector employment recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 18,139 in 1997.
- How does United States of America rank for public sector employment?
- United States of America ranks 1st out of 42 countries with data for 2025.
- Is public sector employment rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. The employed comprise all persons of working age who, during a specified brief period, were in one of the following categories: a) paid employment (whether at work or with a job but not at work); or b) self-employment (whether at work or with an enterprise but not at work). For more information, refer to the Worker and Sector Profiles (PROF) database description.