Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Is the cost of another day off for federal workers meaningful relative to the national debt?
Friday, July 3, 2020
By Allegra Taylor
Copy link
Copy featured image
NO
According to a 2017 calculation, the U.S. government pays its 1.97 million employees about $524 million a day. That sum represented about 0.013% of $4 trillion in spending in 2017, about .002%, or two one-thousandths of a percent, of the June 2020 national debt of $26.4 trillion.
Updated June 18, 2021: Congress approved Juneteenth as an eleventh federal holiday.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
FedSmith.com Cost of federal workforce
The Balance Current government spending
Treasury Direct Debt to the penny
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
FACT BRIEF BY
