Methodology & Data Sources

Data Source

All data on PlainGovJobs comes from the OPM FedScope dataset, published by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. FedScope is the most comprehensive public source of federal civilian workforce information, providing data on every civilian agency, geographic location, occupation series, pay grade, demographic category, and workforce dynamic (hiring and separations) in the executive branch. OPM publishes FedScope data as downloadable multi-dimensional data cubes, enabling analysis from any combination of these dimensions. Data is available at opm.gov/data/datasets/fedscope.

Data Vintage and Update Frequency

The current snapshot reflects March 2025 FedScope data. OPM publishes FedScope employment snapshots quarterly, with each release reflecting a point-in-time headcount and salary picture as of the end of that quarter. Workforce dynamics data (accessions and separations) is released with a similar quarterly cadence. PlainGovJobs updates its database when new FedScope quarterly releases become available from OPM.

Coverage

PlainGovJobs covers 115 federal agencies (including cabinet departments and independent agencies), 634 occupation series grouped into 60 occupation families following OPM's standard classification, all 50 states plus U.S. territories, GS pay grade distributions from GS-1 through GS-15, and monthly accession and separation data tracking workforce flows into and out of federal service.

Processing Pipeline

1. FedScope employment cube and dynamics data files are downloaded from OPM's public data portal in their native multi-dimensional format.
2. Employee counts, average salaries, average length of service, and demographic distributions are parsed and organized by agency, state, occupation series, and pay grade.
3. The 634 individual occupation series are grouped into 60 occupation families using OPM's standard occupational group codes (e.g., the 0300 group covers general administrative, clerical, and office services occupations).
4. Monthly accession and separation records are loaded from the FedScope dynamics dataset, categorizing each workforce flow as a new hire, transfer in, rehire, quit, retirement, reduction in force, termination, or transfer out.
5. Cross-tabulations are computed to enable multi-dimensional analysis: agency-by-state, agency-by-occupation, occupation-by-grade, and state-by-occupation breakdowns.
6. Year-over-year changes are calculated for agency headcounts and average salaries, enabling trend identification.
7. All data is loaded into a structured SQLite database serving agency profiles, occupation pages, state workforce summaries, and ranking tables.

Key Terms

• Accession: An employee entering federal service — includes new hires (first-time federal employees), transfers in from other agencies, and rehires (former federal employees returning to service)
• Separation: An employee leaving federal service — includes voluntary quits, retirements (both voluntary and mandatory), reductions in force, terminations for cause, and transfers out to other agencies
• RIF (Reduction in Force): An involuntary separation initiated by the agency due to lack of work, shortage of funds, reorganization, or other organizational reasons. RIF procedures follow strict OPM regulations regarding retention priority based on tenure, veteran status, length of service, and performance
• GS (General Schedule): The predominant federal pay system covering the majority of white-collar civilian employees, with 15 grades (GS-1 through GS-15) and 10 steps within each grade. Locality pay adjustments are applied on top of the base GS rates
• LOS (Length of Service): Average years of continuous federal civilian service for employees in a given agency, occupation, or grade

Accuracy Commitment

PlainGovJobs reproduces OPM FedScope data exactly as published. Employee counts, salary averages, and workforce dynamics are presented without editorial modification. Cross-tabulations are computed directly from the FedScope cube dimensions. When OPM publishes revised data or corrections, PlainGovJobs incorporates the updates in the next database refresh.

Limitations

• FedScope covers civilian employees only — military personnel, uniformed services, and contractor staff are not included in the dataset.
• Some agencies within the intelligence community and certain Department of Defense components may have incomplete or suppressed data for national security reasons.
• Salary figures shown are national averages based on base pay plus locality adjustments as reported in FedScope. They do not isolate locality-specific pay rates for individual metropolitan areas.
• Data reflects a point-in-time snapshot. Real-time hiring freezes, RIF actions, or organizational changes occurring after the snapshot date are not captured until the next quarterly release.
• PlainGovJobs is not affiliated with OPM or any government agency.

Contact

Questions about our methodology? Contact us.