After a year of reducing the federal workforce, the Trump administration is preparing to expand hiring in key areas, with a focus on early-career workers and technology talent.
A new Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memo directs agencies to develop fiscal 2027 staffing plans that prioritize recruiting younger employees, IT professionals, and other mission-critical roles.
Early-Career Hiring Becomes a Priority
OPM wants at least 33% of all federal hires in fiscal 2027 to be early-career employees. Agencies have been encouraged to recruit through programs such as Pathways, CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service, and a new early-career talent network on USAJobs.
The administration is also expanding its Tech Force initiative, which aims to hire about 1,000 technologists into two-year federal positions. About 300 employees have joined the program so far.
Hiring Targets Roles Hit by Workforce Reductions
The recruitment effort follows significant staffing reductions across the federal government. Since early 2025, the federal workforce has declined by about 271,600 employees through departures and limited hiring, according to the Federal News Network.
OPM is using shared hiring pools to help agencies recruit for positions that experienced staffing losses, including project managers, HR professionals, IT specialists, financial management specialists, and contract specialists.
Recruitment Expands Despite Smaller Workforce
The administration is also working to streamline federal hiring by encouraging agencies to use shared candidate lists and technical skills assessments, while expanding recruitment outside the Washington, D.C., area.
Although agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the State Department have outlined hiring plans, overall federal hiring remains below previous levels. USAJobs postings fell nearly 43% between 2024 and 2025, and federal employment continued to decline in June 2026 despite the new recruitment push.
