Nearly half of federal IT workers are using mobile devices for work every day, pointing to a rapidly increasing shift to a more mobile government workforce, according to new research.

Forty-five percent of federal IT employees surveyed by research firm Fabrizio, Ward & Associates in December said they're using devices daily at work, with e-mail being the most popular application. The research firm conducted the survey--which also explores social-networking use among federal IT employees--for Bluetext, a Washington-based communications firm.

The survey also found that 66% of respondents' non-IT colleagues are using mobile devices for work every day, which suggests "a more rapid and pervasive shift to a mobile government workforce than previously believed," according to Bluetext. The firm shared the findings of the survey on SlideShare.

[ For more on how mobile devices are infiltrating government agencies, see Federal Agencies Embrace iPhones, iPads. ]

Among mobile applications used, 93% of respondents listed e-mail as their favorite. Project management came in a distant second, used by 36% of respondents. Twenty percent said they use social media apps and 13% use voice-over-IP applications.

The survey also polled federal IT employees about social-networking use and found that not surprisingly, Facebook is the overwhelming favorite, with 68% using the site's app on their mobile devices for work activities. Twenty-one percent of respondents said they use Twitter, 16% are using Google+, and 11% use LinkedIn on mobile devices at work.

Mobility is certainly top of mind for the federal government, with agencies increasingly adopting the latest in smartphones and tablet devices such as iPads to better equip their workforces.

Even the government-focused conference at CES this year focused on the topic; the theme of the conference is "Mobile Government Today and Tomorrow," with notable federal IT officials such as U.S. CIO Steven VanRoekel and Department of Veterans Affairs CIO Roger Baker speaking about it.

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