Federal Administrative Leave Costs Rose in 2025
A government deferred resignation program led to billions in payouts and reduced the federal workforce.
Updated on Sept. 18, 2026 in Employment
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The federal government paid $9.5 billion in administrative leave during 2025, marking a 435 percent increase over 2023 levels. This spending supported a deferred resignation program that helped reduce the federal workforce from 3 million to 2.7 million employees.
Why it matters
The Trump administration implemented these measures to decrease the total size of the federal government workforce and associated spending. Despite these cuts, long-term federal spending is now projected to rise by $400 billion, adding pressure to the national budget deficit.
Administrative leave spending reached $9.5 billion in 2025, covering 21.6 million work days. This expenditure supported a deferred resignation program for 140,000 workers, contributing to a 10 percent total reduction in the federal workforce.
The players
The Trump Administration
This is the current executive branch leadership of the United States.
Office of Personnel Management
This federal agency is responsible for managing the civil service and human resources policies for the government.
The details
Under the deferred resignation program, agencies placed departing workers on administrative leave while their duties were reassigned to others. While 20,000 of the resulting vacancies have since been refilled, the program cost $6.7 billion of the total leave spending.
Timeline
In 2023, federal administrative leave spending served as the baseline for comparison.
In January 2025, the federal workforce reached 3 million employees.
February 12, 2025, was the final deadline for workers to resign under the deferred program.
September 2025 marked the end of the payment period for those who resigned.
By August 2026, the total federal payroll declined to 2.7 million workers.
Macro View
The administration's use of administrative leave to achieve structural workforce reductions bypasses traditional budgetary constraints previously governed by laws like the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. This approach marks a significant departure from standard hiring and firing cycles observed during previous administrations.
Taxpayers face the long-term reality of a $400 billion projected increase in total federal spending despite the temporary reduction in headcount. The shift in federal staffing may also impact the speed and quality of services provided by government agencies.
The takeaway
Large-scale workforce restructuring programs often involve significant upfront administrative costs that can complicate total budget outcomes. Readers should monitor future federal budget reports to see if the projected increase in overall government spending materializes as predicted.
Further reading
For more context on current labor trends, read the latest reports in United States Employment.
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