Tuesday, Apr. 22, 2025
Are 1 in 4 Department of Veterans Affairs employees veterans?
According to September 2024 data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 120,904 of the 482,831 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs are veterans – that’s 25 percent of the employees.
Across all federal agencies, 27% of positions are veteran-occupied, lower than the 30% reported in 2020 and 2021. Of the veteran employees in federal positions, 233,542 — or 37% — are also disabled.
Having implemented specific actions to increase employment opportunities for disabled veterans, the VA has a higher percentage of disabled veterans among its veteran employees at 41%.
In Oklahoma, 22% of the 7,579 VA employees are veterans.
According to an internal memo from March, the VA plans to cut more than 80,000 jobs in line with the goals of the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management Federal Workforce Data
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management Employment of Veterans in the Federal Executive Branch
- Associated Press Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from Veterans Affairs, according to internal memo
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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