Federal Retirements Slow in April
April saw around 7,800 federal employees retire, the lowest number YTD. Over the first quarter of 2025, 33,500 federal employees have retired, which is a nearly 13% increase over the 29,700 who retired in Q1 of 2024. OPM’s retirement backlog lowered to 16,700, a decrease of 4,000 from March. The average processing time is 54 days.
IRS Workforce Reductions Revealed
A Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration evaluation issued May 2nd revealed the extent of staffing cuts at the IRS. As of February 2025, 103,000 federal workers were employed by the agency, but by March 2025, that number had been reduced by 11% or roughly 11,000 individuals. Of the reductions, 4,128 came via the deferred resignation program while 7,315 were a result of probationary employees receiving termination notices. In April, the IRS offered a second deferred resignation program. Over 23,000 employees applied, and as of late April, 13,124 had been approved.
HHS Layoffs Trigger Legal Action
Nineteen states have filed suit against the Trump administration over HHS layoffs. In their complaint, they stated, “Incapacitating one of the most sophisticated departments in the federal government implicates hundreds of statutes, regulations, and programs, but Secretary Kennedy refused to undertake this restructuring legally or carefully.” HHS has laid off 10,000 employees and gone from 28 offices down to 15 and from 10 regional offices to five.
Social Security Average Wait Times Increase
Data provided by the Social Security Administration shows the average wait time for phone calls in 2025 has jumped from 61 minutes to 86 minutes. Wait times were the longest in January at an average of 112 minutes, dropping to 104 minutes in February and 99 minutes in March. April’s wait time came in at 68 minutes. In February, the agency said it aims to get staffing levels down to 50,000 employees. Former SSA commissioner Martin O’Malley said in March that the plan to cut that many employees will lead to a “total system collapse,” if implemented.
The Federal Reserve Leaves Key Interest Rate Unchanged
On Wednesday, May 7, the Federal Reserve held its key interest rate steady, ranging between 4.25% and 4.5%, as it waits to see the impact of trade policies on the economy. The committee’s decision to hold the benchmark rate steady was unanimous. The fed funds rate is used by banks for overnight lending but also feeds into other consumer debt, such as mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards.
