Where I'm at, the ratio's currently at ~3:1, with about 90% of the actual dollars going towards contracts. Admittedly, we're also one of the higher agency rati

Where I'm at, the ratio's currently at ~3:1, with about 90% of the actual dollars going towards contracts. Admittedly, we're also one of the higher agency ratio's in the gov. Frankly, a lot of this isn't driven by cost cutting though. In the case I can speak to, and IMO, budget has trended more and more towards contract vs civil due to the irregularity of the budget process, and to some degree, due to the perceived inflexibility & cost (real or not) of a civil job vs a contract. At a basic level, its easier to swap a contractor if you suddenly find that you need a widget maker rather than a sprocket aligner. At some level, there is also the feeder and lobbying ecosystem that is most obvious within the military industrial complex, but is present through all agencies, pushing for more and bigger contracts.