Government Sector Industry Profile

Agencies in this sector administer government services at the federal, state, or municipal level. The largest government agencies by employment include the federal Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, Treasury Department, and Department of Justice.

The US government services sector consists of about 140,000 federal, state, and local government entities with combined budgets of about $8 trillion. Low to no growth in government purchasing (excluding employee compensation) is forecast over the next two years. Key challenges include high unemployment rates that inhibit income tax and sales tax receipts, high pension costs as an aging workforce retires, and high debt levels that have led to the bankruptcies of some cities.

US state-specific data can be found in First Research's State profiles, for all 50 states and Washington, DC. Separate profiles also are available for Canadian provinces.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand for federal government services is driven by population growth and changing demographics of the US population. The US Census Bureau estimates that the over-65 population will climb nearly 80 percent by 2030, which will increase the demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare over the next 20 years. State and local governments experience similar demand drivers, but face increasing or decreasing revenues from which to fund services based on shifts in the population.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major government services include creating and enforcing policies and laws, providing operating services, building and ...