The US federal government has seen a significant loss of skilled STEM PhD employees over the past year. According to data from the Office of Personnel Management, the number of PhD holders in science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM) declined by 10,109, representing an 14% decrease among all federal PhDs. The majority of these departures were due to either retirements or quits.
Source: https://flowingdata.com/2026/02/11/10k-fewer-stem-phds-employed-by-the-federal-government