Changes

At the end of FY 2015, the USPTO employed 12,667 individuals, which includes 9,161 patent examiners and 456 trademark examining attorneys.[http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USPTOFY15PAR.pdf]. This number is up from 12,450 total federal employees in FY 2014[http://www.uspto.gov/about/stratplan/ar/USPTOFY2014PAR.pdf] and 11,773 employees in FY 2013[http://www.uspto.gov/about/stratplan/ar/USPTOFY2013PAR.pdf]. The USPTO is expected to employ around 13,500 employees for FY 2016[http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fy16pbr.pdf].

The USPTO released its 2015-2018 People Plan, which outlines three pillars of focus for its workforce through the 2018 fiscal year.[http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USPTO%202015%20-%202018%20People%20Plan.pdf] The Office intends to use the three pillars of ''lead'', ''engage'', and ''enable'' for its strategic human capital planning, which is "the process by which an organization takes stock of how its people and people-management activities align with and support the agency’s strategic goals." Some human capital planning recommendations include diversifying and developing its workforce, connecting its employees with the core vision of the USPTO, and maximizing its internal leadership capabilities.