Education and Labor Field Offices Are Located Throughout the United States

In fiscal year 1995, the Department of Education had 72 field offices and the Department of Labor had 1,074. 2). About 21 percent (229 offices) of Labor’s field offices and 42 percent of on-board field staff were located in the 10 federal region cities; together these offices were supported by 4,486 staff. The concentration of Labor’s staff in its field offices reflects the primary mission of these components’ responsibilities. 5). Education’s and Labor’s Largest Field Office Costs Were Staff Salaries and Benefits

Together Education and Labor spent about 1.3 percent ($867 million) of their combined budget of approximately $66 billion in support of their field operations; more than three quarters of this amount was for staff salaries and benefits. 6). Scope and Methodology

We designed our study to gather information on the Departments of Education and Labor field office structures. In addition, each profile provides the following information about the field offices: (1) staffing, (2) space occupied, (3) costs to operate, and (4) field office restructuring activities or plans.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information about the field offices supporting the Departments of Education and Labor, focusing on the field offices': (1) locations; (2) functions, staffing, space and operating costs; and (3) proposed structural changes.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) in fiscal year 1995, the Department of Education had 72 field offices and the Department of Labor had 1,074 field offices; (2) Labor and Education spent a total of $867 million dollars in support of their field office operations; (3) about 94 percent of Education's field staff and 42 percent of Labor's field staff were located in ten regional cities; (4) Labor had a high concentration of staff in its field offices, reflecting the agency's general responsibilities; (5) the majority of the amount spent in supporting field offices operations was for staff salaries and benefits; and (6) Labor and Education are planning to make changes in their field office structures to improve efficiency and contain administrative costs.