Data Dive: 24,000 In Hawaiʻi Call Federal Government Their Boss, For Now
Most federal employees in Hawaiʻi work in the defense sector, but about 5,000 work for other agencies that could be affected by cutbacks under the Trump administration.
Federal employees around the country face uncertainty as the Trump administration moves quickly to revamp and reduce the federal workforce. The administration has frozen hiring, halted and moved to fire staffers in diversity, equity and inclusion programs, told employees they must go back to the office and offered millions of them months of pay without having to work if they agree to resign now.
Many of those moves, such as the hiring freeze, do not affect military personnel or people who work in immigration enforcement or national security. Given that 80% of the approximately 24,000 federal employees in Hawaiʻi work for the Department of Defense, many are not likely to be affected.
But about 5,000 people in Hawaiʻi work for other federal agencies that may be, including Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior and Commerce, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s latest data from March 2024.
After the Defense Department, the largest federal agency here is Veterans Affairs, with 2,173 employees. The agency handles pensions, medical care and other benefits for veterans and their families. Most employees work for the Veterans Health Administration, which handles health care at its clinics and hospitals.
The VA Pacific Islands Health Care System is headquartered in a big, pink building in Moanalua called the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical Center. Branch offices for other federal agencies, such as the Interior Department and the Justice Department, are in downtown Honolulu's Prince Kūhiō Building along Ala Moana Boulevard.
Largely due to the large military presence, federal employees make up about 3.2% of Hawaiʻi's workforce — the second highest state behind Maryland, although the District of Columbia has a far greater share, at 30.5%.
Last week, a federal worker in Hawaiʻi received an email from the Trump administration that said remote work had been eliminated, and that the federal workforce was expected to be comprised of people who are "reliable, loyal, trustworthy, and who strive for excellence in their daily work."
Attached to the email, which was forwarded to Civil Beat, was a pre-written letter of resignation and an offer of severance pay through Sept. 30.
