Frequently Asked Questions

PlainGovJobs covers approximately 2.3 million federal civilian employees across 115 agencies as reflected in the March 2025 OPM FedScope snapshot. Military personnel are not included — OPM FedScope covers civilian employees only.

FedScope is the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's public workforce data portal. It provides quarterly snapshots of federal civilian workforce statistics including agency headcount, occupation distribution, pay grade, demographics, and workforce dynamics (hiring and separations).

The General Schedule (GS) is the most common federal civilian pay system, with 15 grades (GS-1 through GS-15) and 10 steps per grade. GS-1 is entry level; GS-15 is senior professional. Actual pay also varies by locality pay area — federal employees in high-cost cities receive locality adjustments on top of the base GS rate.

RIF stands for Reduction in Force — an involuntary workforce separation initiated by the agency due to lack of work, budget reductions, reorganization, or other administrative reasons. RIF procedures follow strict federal regulations under 5 CFR Part 351, including retention standing, bumping rights, and retreat rights.

Certain agencies — primarily intelligence community components — are excluded from FedScope for national security reasons. Additionally, some small or newly created agencies may have limited historical data. OPM notes these exclusions in its documentation.

PlainGovJobs uses the March 2025 FedScope snapshot. OPM typically releases FedScope data on a quarterly basis. Workforce dynamics data (accessions, separations) includes the most recent available monthly records.

No. PlainGovJobs is not affiliated with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or any federal agency. We are an independent data portal presenting publicly available government workforce data in a more accessible format.