How big is our federal government?

No commentary by me; just the data, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics website:

With more than 1.8 million civilian employees, the Federal Government, excluding the Postal Service is the Nation’s largest employer.

Of the three branches, the executive branch ... employed 98 percent of all Federal civilian employees (excluding Postal Service workers) in 2005. The executive branch is composed of the Executive Office of the President, 15 executive Cabinet departments ... and nearly 90 independent agencies...

Cabinet departments ... listed by employment size:

• Defense
• Veterans Affairs
• Homeland Security
• Treasury
• Justice
• Agriculture
• Interior
• Health and Human Services
• Transportation
• Commerce
• State
• Labor
• Energy
• Housing and Urban Development
• Education

[much, much more info at the link]