The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) saw an 18% reduction in employees as of the end of September 2025.
This is part of the Trump Administration’s overall ambition to reduce the size of government, which continues to bloat. Excluding the post office, there were around 2.9 million federal employees in 2025. This number does not include contractors, which drives the number higher. The federal government remains the largest single employer in the US.
According to the GAO, most SEC employees left voluntarily, benefiting from an incentive. In total, 871 employees left, of whom 599 participated in the departure programs. Some SEC employees interviewed by the GAO expressed concern about the loss of knowledge and experience. The advent of artificial intelligence could help mitigate some of the institutional experience loss.
Investment management saw the highest percentage departure at 24%.
The SEC is said to be working on managing the reduction. The SEC also instituted a change to reduce work-from-home (telework), which was prevalent during the Biden administration.
In brief, the SEC currently has around 4,000 employees, the lowest headcount since 2014. In 2024, the SEC had the highest number of employees, at 4,920, up every year of the Biden administration.