Government

Local, state, and federal officials, such as mayors, state legislators, governors, and U.S. Congress members must be elected to their positions by campaigning and attracting voters. Political candidates running for office typically employ a staff that works for his or her election and presents a candidate's views to the public. The higher the office, the more workers are needed for the candidate to succeed. To fill many of these positions, candidates rely on volunteers whose activities are usually coordinated by a paid, full-time general office staff.

Once elected, government officials must then carry out the work of their office, working together with other elected officials as well as various government branches and departments. Most elected officials maintain a staff. In Washington, D.C., the staff that assists Congress is quite large. Each representative has a chief of staff or administrative assistant to run their office in Washington, and others are hired to work in offices in the congressperson's home state. A variety of staff work in the offices of elected officials, such as communications directors, schedulers, caseworkers (who help resolve problems presented by constituents), office managers, and receptionists.

Many of those workers involved in government are not elected. Lobbyists are frequently former government employees who are familiar with the offices and the staff they are lobbying. Think tanks perform research and develop reports on social, technological, business, or other problems and provide important information to lobbyists, members of the government, and government-related groups. The Foreign Service employs ambassadors, Foreign Service officers, and others who serve in U.S. embassies and consulates in countries around the world.

Beyond Washington, D.C., career opportunities are available in every state, county, and city government. City managers and urban planners, for example, gauge the needs of their cities and local communities and propose changes to government officials. Government careers are available to teachers, journalists, business executives, farmers, and anyone interested in having an impact on how Americans relate to each other and to the world.

Overall, the federal government employed nearly 2.3 million civilian workers, excluding the Postal Service, in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Approximately 502,600 people worked for the U.S. Postal Service that year. State and local governments employed close to 19.9 million people in 2023.