The firing of thousands of federal employees by President Donald Trump has coincided with a spike in unemployment claims in Washington, D.C., which may worsen as the operations ramp up.
Almost 4,000 workers in the city have applied for unemployment insurance since Trump took office, part of a spike that started at the beginning of the year, according to Labor Department data that isn’t adjusted for seasonal variations.
The six weeks of the new year have seen just under 7,000 claims filed overall, which is almost 55% more than the previous six-week period. The week ending February 8 saw 1,780 filings, up 36% from the previous week and more than four times as many as during the same time period in 2024.
In contrast, the overall number of claims in the United States has been relatively stable. The four-week moving average of first claims is 216,000, which is essentially unchanged from the start of the year and has been going downward for the majority of the last several months.
The spike in D.C. claims coincides with the implementation of buyout programs for early retirement and orders for layoffs throughout the federal structure by Trump and the Department of federal Efficiency advisory board, which is overseen by Elon Musk.
“I anticipate it will rise, and we will undoubtedly be closely monitoring it,” stated Raj Namboothiry, senior vice president of the workforce solutions firm Manpower North America.
The increase corresponds with the White House ordering the layoffs of probationary staff along with thousands of others as the administration seeks a broad-based labor force reduction, however it is unclear what proportion of the spike is directly related to federal government personnel. Additionally, the buyout offer has been accepted by almost 75,000 employees.
As of December 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Washington, D.C., has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation at 5.5%, second only to Nevada. The metropolitan area, which includes the Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia, areas, was only 2.7%, though. During the month, the national unemployment rate was 4.1%; in January, it fell to 4%.
The overall labor picture remains stable.
The government personnel reduction, according to Namboothiry, would cause some issues in the area, but it wouldn’t significantly alter the “fairly stable” national picture.
“Yes, the numbers are definitely sizable,” he stated. “But because you’re spread across multiple [geographies], multiple skill sets, multiple sectors, I don’t see that playing a significant role in impacting the overall market.”
About one-fifth of the approximately 2.4 million federal employees—not including post office workers—are based in the D.C. region, with the other personnel dispersed throughout the nation. Since the late 1960s, the number has been largely stable, with the exception of increases around tax season.
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Nonetheless, a key component of Trump’s strategy to reduce the size of government has been his targeting of the federal job rolls.
However, displaced workers might not stay unemployed for very long. According to Namboothiry, some economic sectors may have a significant need for their skill sets.
“This presents an opportunity, because there are clients who are looking for talent that’s exiting that may benefit,” he stated. “There’s going to be some conversations around an interest from employers with this pool of talent.”
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Trump is targeting cuts across the government, with some agencies anticipating significant reductions.
According to Indeed Hiring Lab economist Allison Shrivastava, the performance of those displaced workers will vary depending on their line of work.
“It might be that very few of them remain without work,” she stated. “It definitely depends on sector. So, for example, if you are, As Trump ramps up layoffs, unemployment claims start to spike in Washington, D.C. You’re in the accounting sector right now, that’s a sector that, in terms of job postings, we’ve seen perform pretty well. Say you’re in software development … those jobs have not been as in demand. The level of difficulty that you would have in finding a job would really be contingent on the sector that you’re in.”
