Over the past 12 months, the Department of Labor (DOL) has lost 4.7 percent of its workforce to attrition and retirements, according to data released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), as detailed by Bloomberg News.

department-of-labor-insigniaThe DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has been hit even harder, with a 9 percent reduction in force.  Between June and September 2017, the EBSA lost 33 employees alone, dipping it below the 900-person threshold. From September 2016 to September 2017, the agency lost 87 employees. It has lost 150 employees, or 14 percent, since its peak of 1,043 staffers in September 2012.

Other agencies have seen losses as well: The Women’s Bureau has lost 20 percent of its staff and the Office of Disability Employment Policy has seen a decline of nearly 12 percent.

Only the Office of Chief Financial Officer has seen a gain in employment over the past year. Overall employment at the DOL tops 17,000 persons.

The DOL, founded in 1913, now maintains and operates 28 offices and agencies.