Death More Likely Than Pink Slips for Federal Workers

If you’re looking for job security, look no further than the federal government, where you’re more likely to leave feet-first than be fired or laid off. According to a new USA Today analysis, the government fired just 0.55% of its workforce in the past budget-year, or 11,668 of it 2.1 million employees. The FCC and FTC, which have 1,800 and 1,200 employees, respectively, didn't rack up a single firing or layoff. For comparison, the public sector fires about 3% of employees for poor performance each year.

If you’ve been on the job for more than a couple years, your job security in the government inches towards 100%. One management professor says a rate that low “would indicate a serious management problem.” But a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development says they’re not about to apologize for their 99.85% job security rate. “We've never focused on firing people, and we don't intend to start now,” he said. “We're more focused on hiring the right people.” (More government workers stories.)