Technology experts are warning that the ongoing government shutdown could impact the federal IT workforce, who may choose to leave government service for a private sector job that offers reliable and higher pay.
Shutdowns trigger furloughs and delay pay across federal agencies. While certain IT and cybersecurity personnel continue working to keep essential systems running, they are working without immediate pay – a situation that places many federal employees under financial strain.
“We know that stability is an important element for retaining employees in any sector. The stress of not receiving a paycheck on time due to the shutdown, on top of dealing with other workforce cuts this year, hurts morale and makes it challenging for federal workers to do their jobs,” Partnership for Public Service Vice President of Government Affairs Jenny Mattingley told MeriTalk.
“Shutdowns and continuing resolutions also stifle technology investments. All of this compounds to create an environment that isn’t conducive to recruiting and retaining tech talent,” Mattingley added.
Notably, back pay for furloughed federal employees is now in limbo after a draft memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) argued workers are not guaranteed back pay after the government reopens.
Federal employees, especially in the technology field, also do not make as much as they could in the private sector. According to the Federal Salary Council, federal employees, on average, earned 24.7 percent less in 2024 than their counterparts in the private sector.
John Binks, the senior director of business development for the federal civilian sector at Titan Technologies, underscored that shutdowns weaken employee morale. Binks has over 20 years of federal experience, including at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where he directed significant IT operations.
“When federal talent begins to perceive instability as the norm, morale erodes, institutional knowledge walks out the door, and the public sector loses its competitive edge,” Binks told MeriTalk.
“Federal leaders must do more than put patches on budget cycles. They must build resilience in staffing, safeguard career pathways, and deliver transparency so that top performers feel anchored, not adrift. Otherwise, the brain drain becomes self-fulfilling,” he added.
In a LinkedIn blog post, Binks further explained that repeated funding lapses delay IT modernization efforts and force many to work without pay or “sit at home in furlough status.”
“The result is predictable: more federal technologists consider leaving for the private sector,” Binks said, adding, “For mid-career technologists supporting mortgages, student loans, and families, repeated pay disruptions are a powerful push factor.”
Similarly, Deepak Kumar, the founder and CEO of Adaptiva, a global leader in autonomous endpoint management, said that the shutdown places an “enormous strain on an already stretched thin federal cyber workforce.”
For instance, under the shutdown, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has retained just 35% of its staff.
“With so many IT and security professionals furloughed, the remaining staff are left to manage an unmanageable workload, particularly when it comes to patching and securing the vast number of federal endpoints,” Kumar said, adding, “This kind of pressure isn’t sustainable.”
“The government relies on a sense of public mission, job security, and benefits to compete. However, when skilled professionals are asked to do more with less, often without pay or certainty, it drives top talent toward the private sector, where they can find more lucrative compensation, flexibility, and rapid career advancement,” Kumar said. “Over time, that attrition doesn’t just weaken morale; it undermines the government’s ability to maintain a strong, secure IT foundation.”
Paul Lekas, senior vice president of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), told MeriTalk that attracting cyber and tech talent to the federal government has been a priority “for years.”
“That goal is more urgent now than ever with rapid advances in AI and other emerging tech fields and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks from malicious foreign actors. The longer the shutdown continues, the more likely civil servants will seek alternatives outside of government,” Lekas said.