As the overall jobs outlook improved in September, employment at federal agencies remained stagnant.

Federal agencies lost roughly 2,000 jobs last month, with the total number of federal workers remaining close to 2.7 million, according to monthly data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday. Employment at the financially-strapped U.S. Postal Service – often the source of monthly declines in the federal workforce – stayed almost completely flat, while the rest of the federal government was responsible for the losses.

September’s numbers follow several months of either slight increases in federal employment, or no change. The trend over the past few years, however, has been that of a shrinking government.