At a time when the United States faces an expanding array of public health challenges—from an aging population and rising mental health needs to chronic disease, the opioid crisis, infectious disease threats, and persistent health disparities—a new study suggests the public health workforce responsible for responding to many of these challenges is losing workers at increasing rates.

Government-employed health professionals play a crucial role on the front lines of the U.S. public health system. Across the country, these workers deliver care to millions of people at public hospitals, local health departments, and major federal systems such as the Veterans Health Administration. In recent years, however, the government public health workforce has faced mounting pressures, including federal workforce reductions, program cuts, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To better understand how these pressures may be affecting the workforce, a new study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) examined recent employment trends among healthcare and behavioral health workers at local, state, and federal agencies.  Researchers analyzed data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, tracking employment patterns among more than 25,000 healthcare and behavioral health professionals working in government positions between 2015 and 2025. The study followed whether workers remained in government roles, moved to jobs in other sectors, or left the labor force altogether.

The study, published in Health Affairs Scholar, found:

• Departures are increasing. Exits from government employment among healthcare and behavioral health workers rose noticeably in the most recent data from October 2024 through July 2025, signaling growing workforce instability at the beginning of the second Trump Administration.
• Federal workers saw the biggest recent change. Historically, federal healthcare and behavioral health workers had the lowest exit rates, but their likelihood of leaving government employment recently climbed to about 8% in the 2024/2025 cohort, similar to state and local healthcare and behavioral health workers.
• Healthcare workers left the workforce at higher rates than behavioral health workers. Across the study period, healthcare workers were consistently more likely to transition out of government jobs, with exit probabilities often between 8% and 9% across the study cohorts, compared with roughly 6% for behavioral health workers.

“Reducing the government health workforce threatens the ability of public health systems to meet the needs of people across the country,” said Nichole Fusilier, researcher with SPH’s Center for Public Health Systems. “Government health workers provide essential services in communities nationwide, and when that workforce becomes less stable, it can ultimately affect access to care, especially for vulnerable populations. At a time when demand for healthcare and behavioral health services is expected to grow, policymakers should be thinking about how to strengthen and expand these jobs, rather than see further reductions in the workforce.”

The study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by CDC, HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.