We are rapidly approaching national elections in November. We know that former President Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, and we now also know that President Biden no longer is the Democratic nominee, something that was uncertain until last weekend. What that will ultimately mean for the Democrats’ chances of winning the election are unknown, and events in an election year are unpredictable. As of this writing, the 45th president has a chance of also being the 47th president.
President Biden quickly started his term of office focusing on racism and inequality. As he made that a central issue in his administration, in comparing how the federal force fared under President Trump and Biden, one item to consider is how the racial composition of the workforce changed.
This summary will compare the two presidents and their impact on the workforce. It will compare overall federal employment, the racial composition of the workforce, and annual salary increases for the first term of Presidents Biden and Trump.
Comparing Total Federal Employment
President Trump was elected in November 2016 and took the oath of office in January 2017.
As of December 2016, the total federal workforce was 2,093,868. Shortly before President Trump left office at the end of December 2020, the total federal workforce had 2,1171,5132 employees, an increase of 3.7% during the Trump presidency.
President Biden was elected in November 2020 and inaugurated in January 2021. While he is still in office as of this writing, the latest data available from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is from November 2023. At the end of November, there were 2,265,644 federal employees. This was an increase of about 6.3% for the period covering most of the Biden presidency.
Under President Trump, the number of federal employees increased by 3.7%. According to the latest data, under President Biden, the increase was 6.3% as of November 2023 during the Biden administration.
Comparing Racial Composition of the Federal Workforce: Biden vs. Trump
Early in his administration, the Biden administration decided to focus on race and equity issues. He issued two executive orders citing a wide variety of groups to benefit from government favoritism in hiring and promotions by excluding white employees from the list.
This long list of groups singled out for favoritism is cited in this article. The orders cited actions to be taken by agencies to implement the agenda of ensuring equity for all groups included in the list. These actions included submitting reports by agencies, establishing new organizations, and creating new processes to implement these directives.
The figures on the racial composition of the federal workforce that approximate the start of the Biden administration are from the end of March 2020. At that time, there were 811,488 minority federal employees and 903,595 white federal employees. The latest data available is from November 2023. As of that date, there were 903,595 minority federal employees. This shows an increase of 11.4% in minority federal employees and an increase of 1.89% in white federal employees.
The Biden administration’s agenda focuses on various issues, such as race and ethnic background, etc., to increase the number of minorities in the workforce. That has happened, as illustrated by the OPM statistics in these charts.
Racial Employment Under Biden
| Group | Date | Number of Employees | % Increase |
| Minority Employees | March 2020 | 811,488 | |
| November 2023 | 903,595 | 11.3% | |
| White Employees | March 2020 | 1,321,913 | |
| November 2023 | 1,346,923 | 1.89% |
Racial Employment Under Trump
| Group | Date | Number of Employees | % Increase |
| Minority Employees | December 2016 | 760,550 | |
| December 2020 | 830,114 | 9.14% | |
| White Employees | December 2016 | 1,332,392 | |
| December 2020 | 1,335,214 | 0.21% |
Overall Federal Employment Under Trump and Biden Administrations
Shortly before President Trump took office, there were 2,093,868 federal employees. 760,550 of these were minorities (non-white) or about 36.3% of the workforce.
Shortly before he left office (the end of December 2020), there were 2,171,513 federal employees. 830,114 were minorities, or about 38.2% of the workforce.
Shortly after Joe Biden became president (March 2020) there were 2,137,213 federal employees. 811,488 were minorities, or about 37.9%.
At the end of November 2023, there were 2,265,644 federal employees. 903,595 were minorities, or about 39.8% of the federal workforce.
Overall Federal Employment
Using the data from the dates specified above, here is how total federal employment changed under Presidents Trump and Biden.
| President | Total Employees At Start of Term | Total Employees at or Near End of Term | % Increase in Federal Employees |
| Trump | 2,093,868 | 2,171,513 | 3.7% |
| Biden | 2,137,213 | 2,265,644 | 6% |
Federal GS Salaries Under Trump and Biden
For average salary, the figure represents the number as of December 31 for the previous year. For example, the 2018 average salary is from December 31, 2017. This aligns the data with the amount listed for the yearly raise.
President Trump proposed the 2018 raise. President Obama proposed the 2017 raise even though Trump was in office for most of that year.
The average salary for 2024 is from September 2023, the latest salary data available as of this writing.
| Trump Raises | Year | Amount | Average Salary |
| 2018 | 1.90% | $84,185 | |
| 2019 | 1.90% | $85,950 | |
| 2020 | 3.10% | $87,693 | |
| 2021 | 1.00% | $90,510 | |
| Average | 1.98% | ||
| Total | 7.90% | ||
| Biden Raises | |||
| 2022 | 2.70% | $92,577 | |
| 2023 | 4.60% | $95,864 | |
| 2024 | 5.20% | $100,705 | |
| Proposed | 2025 | 2% (proposed) | |
| Average | 3.62% | ||
| Total | 14.5% |
Summary
While the average salary increase was higher under President Biden, inflation was also much higher during his administration. The federal government grew under Biden more than under Trump.
The number of minorities employed by the federal government was higher under both presidents—a little higher under Biden without the Biden executive orders emphasizing how hiring was going to be conducted.
