Locally Employed Staff LE Staff

Every U.S. embassy and consulate depends on locally employed staff, people hired in the host country rather than sent from Washington. Most are citizens of that country, and some are Americans living there or family members of U.S. diplomats. As of September 2024 the State Department employed about 50,700 of them, compared with about 14,400 Foreign Service members and 12,800 civil servants, making them roughly 63 percent of the department's total workforce.

They work as political and economic analysts, consular assistants, translators, drivers, guards, mechanics, accountants, and in nearly every other role. Because American diplomats rotate every two to three years, locally employed staff provide continuity, language skills, knowledge of local politics and customs, and contacts that can take years to build. Their pay and benefits follow local labor markets and laws rather than federal pay scales.

Working for the U.S. government can be dangerous. Local staff have been killed in embassy bombings, including the 1998 attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, and many faced threats after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, when some qualified for special immigrant visas. Embassy closures and budget cuts in 2025 and 2026 led to layoffs of local staff at some posts. Diplomats often call them the backbone of their missions, and the State Department honors them with an annual award.