✋Everyone Is Quitting?

Key Takeaways

• Peace Corps losing half staff, planning 8,000 volunteers
• IRS leadership cut 75%, staff quarter gone
• USPS posted $9.5B loss, considering service cuts
• GAO oversight weakened, agencies filing shadow reports
• Legislative branch offers most stable federal jobs

Summary

Several federal agencies are experiencing unprecedented turnover, with the Peace Corps, IRS, Social Security Administration, and Department of Education each losing 25‑50% of their workforce. The U.S. Postal Service reported a $9.5 billion net loss for 2025, prompting discussions of service cuts, hiring freezes, and further layoffs. Simultaneously, the Government Accountability Office’s oversight is being sidestepped as agencies submit self‑certified “shadow reports,” obscuring hiring inefficiencies. Job seekers are advised to target the Legislative Branch or state and local governments for greater stability.

Pulse Analysis

The federal workforce is in the throes of a turnover tsunami. Recent Office of Inspector General findings reveal that the Peace Corps has shed nearly half of its professional staff, the IRS has slashed leadership by three‑quarters, and the Social Security Administration is operating with a skeletal crew amid 800,000 pending claims. Such attrition stems from budget constraints, aging workforces, and competitive private‑sector salaries, eroding institutional knowledge and threatening the agencies’ ability to meet statutory mandates.

Meanwhile, the United States Postal Service faces a fiscal cliff after posting a $9.5 billion net loss for 2025 despite a $107 billion reform package. The agency is weighing reduced delivery days, office closures, and a renewed hiring freeze, while already shifting 35,000 positions to lower‑cost “pre‑career” roles. These measures underscore a broader challenge: maintaining nationwide logistics in an era dominated by high‑tech private carriers, and they signal heightened job insecurity for current and prospective USPS employees.

Compounding these pressures is a weakening of the Government Accountability Office’s watchdog role. Agencies are now permitted to bypass GAO’s “Green Book” guidelines, submitting self‑certified shadow reports that hide inefficiencies such as prolonged “ghost” job postings and costly merit‑based exams that never result in hires. This opacity hampers congressional oversight and inflates waste, while job seekers find clearer pathways in the Legislative Branch or state and local governments, where pension security and staffing stability remain comparatively robust.