OMB releases list of jobs that could be outsourced

More than 300,000 federal jobs could be performed in the private sector under the 1998 Federal Activities and Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, the Office of Management and Budget said Thursday. OMB released the second round of 2001 FAIR Act lists on Wednesday, but did not have a final tally on the total number of jobs that could be performed in the private sector until Thursday. The second release included 34 FAIR Act inventories, including those of the Commerce, Education and Interior Departments. The FAIR Act requires agencies to compile annual inventories of jobs that are commercial in nature and could be performed by contractors. In theory, all of these jobs could be outsourced to private firms, although the law allows agencies to classify some jobs as ineligible for outsourcing. Of the 200,864 jobs included in the second round, about 37 percent, or 73,629 positions, are eligible for outsourcing under the FAIR Act. Every year, OMB reviews the lists and then releases them to Congress and the public in three rounds. To date, OMB has reviewed 91 agencies and included 514,426 jobs on the FAIR Act lists. About 59 percent, or 302,263 jobs, are eligible for outsourcing to the private sector under the law.