By Scott Kupor, Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management
January 16, 2026

The fall of 2000 is memorable for many things, not the least of which was the “hanging chad” presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, culminating in the Supreme Court’s ultimate resolution of the case in favor of Bush. That time period also witnessed the tragedy of the Al Qaeda bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen and the triumph of the first permanent crew arriving at the International Space Station.

Amid each of these consequential global events, you’d be forgiven for not recalling the Office of Personnel Management also released FedScope at the same time! FedScope was designed “to satisfy customers’ need for workforce data” and was the first central online repository of federal employment-related data.

And it was great – for its time. But, over the years, its age began showing: the data was months out of date, the reporting interface was, well, from the year 2000, and the system was just too hard to be used effectively.

Despite the façade being in disrepair, the need for this information persisted. And the need remained simple – people just want it to be easy to get timely, usable information about the federal workforce. If we’re serious about modernizing the federal government, we also have to modernize how we share information about the people who make government work.

That’s why I’m excited about the launch of OPM’s new Federal Workforce Data (FWD) website.  

This new site replaces FedScope and gives the public a faster, clearer, and more user-friendly way to explore federal workforce data. Instead of waiting long stretches between updates, the site will be refreshed on a predictable monthly basis. Instead of static tables, users can interact with the data, explore trends, and download datasets directly. And instead of uncertainty about what the numbers show and when they were last updated, the platform is built to provide greater clarity around data quality and timing.

Just as important, this launch isn’t only about how the data looks, it’s about what data is available. OPM is expanding the range of workforce information we share publicly, including data on retirement eligibility, telework and remote work, administrative leave, performance ratings, and federal hiring activity. That matters, because transparency only works when people can see the full picture.

Making this information easier to access isn’t an academic exercise. Better data leads to better decisions. It helps agencies plan their workforce, it helps policymakers target reforms, and it gives the public a clearer view of how the federal workforce is changing. If we want a more effective, transparent, and accountable government, this kind of visibility isn’t optional.

Importantly – and a big change for government – the team is taking an interactive approach to building FWD. As all good software developers know, until you get the product into the customers’ hands, you don’t know precisely how it will be used and thus what new features will need to be built or existing features tweaked.

Thus, this launch is not the finish line; it’s the starting point. We’ll be adding new data, new visuals, and new features every month, and we’ll keep improving the site based on feedback from the people who use it. The goal is to build a modern, living platform that gets better over time and actually reflects how people want to explore and understand federal workforce information.

We still have work to do, but this is an important step forward. I’d encourage anyone who relies on federal workforce data — inside government or outside of it — to check out the new site, explore what’s there, and tell us how we can make it better.

A more transparent federal workforce starts with better tools. This is one of them. Visit data.opm.gov to explore the new FWD website.