Fact Sheet: Federal workers are vital to North Carolina’s economy

Elon Musk and the Trump administration are illegally firing federal employees who serve NC veterans, seniors, farmers, and small businesses, keep our food, water, airlines, national parks, and workplaces safe, and carry out critical medical research, weather forecasting, emergency response, disaster relief, and national security missions. Federal employees and their families are also our neighbors who live, work, and send their children to schools across NC, spreading the impact of these attacks to every single NC community.

Who are federal employees in North Carolina?

The federal workforce consists of roughly 3 million employees, most of whom (98.4%) live in the states.

• NC is home to nearly 85,000 federal employees, about 2% percent of the state’s total non-farm employment.
• This makes the federal government a larger employer in NC than any private employer, including Walmart, Food Lion, and Amazon.
• Cumberland, Mecklenburg, and Wake counties are each home to over 8,000 federal employees.
• Major federal employers in NC include the US Postal Service, Veterans Affairs, the National Park Service, and Social Security Administration.

Attacking federal employees means cutting NC jobs, services, and specialized expertise that is very difficult to replace

Federal employees carry out agency missions that underpin our entire economy and do jobs that often require very specific experience or training. For example, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) plays key roles in disaster recovery, maintaining homeless shelters, constructing affordable housing and community centers, and helping first-time homeowners. On average, federal employees nationwide have more experience and education than the workforce at large.

• Over 42% of federal workers are over the age of 50, compared with one-third of the overall workforce.
• Nearly half of federal employees have been in public service for over a decade.
• Over half of federal employees have a bachelor’s or advanced degree, compared with 40% of the overall workforce.

Attacking federal employees means attacking large numbers of veterans, women, workers with disabilities, workers of color, and union members

Due to strong equal employment policies, union contracts guaranteeing equal pay for equal work, and programs to recruit workers who have completed military service, the federal workforce is very diverse. Historically, federal employment has offered important opportunities to women and workers of color — in some states playing a central role in building the Black middle class.

• In North Carolina, Black workers make up 27% of federal employees, compared with 21% of people working overall.
• Nearly 28,000 — or one-third — of North Carolina’s federal workers are veterans .
• Over 9,000 — or 11% — of federal workers in North Carolina have a disability.
• Nationally, about 1.6 million federal workers, including postal workers, are represented by a union (over half), compared with only 11% of the overall workforce.

North Carolina’s federal workers are standing up against illegal, unconstitutional attacks to defend critical services

Right now, NC federal workers and their unions are defending their obligations to the public and the US Constitution as they challenge illegal firings and funding freezes, while maintaining vital services as attacks continue.