UPDATE 2-US federal workforce drops to lowest level in at least a decade

The U.S. federal workforce fell to the ‌lowest level in at least a decade, according to government data published on Thursday, ⁠the result of President Donald Trump’s campaign to shrink the government. The cuts hit nearly every major federal agency, according ​to the statistics from the Office of Personnel Management.

The U.S. federal workforce fell to the ‌lowest level in at least a decade, according to government data published on Thursday, ⁠the result of President Donald Trump’s campaign to shrink the government.

The cuts hit nearly every major federal agency, according ​to the statistics from the Office of Personnel Management. ‍Several lost more than a quarter of their staff, including the departments of Education, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development. The Department of ⁠Homeland ‌Security is ⁠an exception, with headcount barely fluctuating after Trump took office. The U.S. government ‍employs 2.1 million workers, according to the OPM statistics.

The federal government ​has long been seen as a stable employer, with ⁠staff commonly spending decades working inside U.S. agencies. Trump and his ⁠team sought to change that at the start of his second term, as he argued that the ⁠federal government was bloated and inefficient. Thursday’s figures showed the administration’s progress ⁠on ‌that goal. A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.