Washington, D.C. – U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Linda M. Springer today released the report titled Employment of Veterans in Federal Government: Fiscal Year 2006, which demonstrates a small increase in the number of armed forces veterans working for the Federal government. The report shows increases in both the number of veterans employed and newly hired since Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2005.”This report demonstrates the effectiveness of our efforts to heed President Bush’s call to bring more veterans into the Federal civilian workforce,” Director Springer said. “We are pleased with the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have decided to continue their service to the American public in a civilian capacity.”The total number of veterans employed by the Federal government increased from 456,254 in FFY 2005 to 457,965 in FFY 2006, while the number of disabled veterans increased from 92,642 to 97,828. The number of “newly hired” veterans increased from 48,257 to 50,108. In fact, veterans represented 22.1 percent of all new Federal workforce hires for FFY 2006, the highest percentage in four years.In comparing employment in the private sector with the Federal government, the report found the Feds employ more than twice the percentage of veterans, twice the percentage of Vietnam Era veterans, and six times the percentage of disabled veterans.OPM continues to enhance its veteran recruitment efforts through its support for programs such as Operation Warfighter, and through its Veterans’ Outreach Offices, which provide assistance to returning veterans interested in Federal civilian employment opportunities. Two such offices are currently in operation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. A third is scheduled to open shortly at Fort Carson, CO.