Elon Musk Listens to Us President Donald Trump Speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Us, Feb. 11, 2025.
Kevin lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump’s Moves to Fire Thousands of Federal Government Workers Have Coincided with a SURGE In Jobless Claims in Washington DC That Could WorsE as the Eforts Intensify.
Since Trump has taken office, Nearly 4,000 Workers in the City Have Filed for UNEMPLIENCE Insurance as Part of a Surge That Began at the Start of the New Year, According to Labor Depart Figures Not Adjustable s.
In all, just shy of 7,000 claims have been filled in the six weeks of the new year, or About 55% More than in the Prior Six-Veryk Period. Filings rose to 1,780 for the week ending Feb. 8, A 36% Increase from the Prior Week and More Than Four Times Around the same period in 2024.
By contrast, the Total Level of Claims In the us has been moving words, with the four-white moving average of Initial Claims at 216,000, Little Changed From the Beginning of the Year and Actually trending lower for the most part over the pass.
The Jump in DC Claims come as Trump and the Elon Musk-LED Department of Government Efficiency Efficiency Advisory Board Have Ordered Layoffs across the government structure and instituted buyout programs for early retirement.
“I expect it to go higher, and definitely we watching it very close,” said Raj Namboothiry, Senior Vice President at Manpower North America, The Workfroces Company.
While it’s Unclear What Share of the Spike is directly related to federal government works, the risk coincides with the white houseing the layoffs of probationary Empolys TRATION SEEKS A Broad-Based Reduction in the Labor Force. In addition, some 75,000 Employees Have accepted the buyout offer,
Washington dc Had one of the highhest unemployment rates in the country at 5.5% as of December 2024, Surpassed only by Nevada, according to the bureau of labor statistics. However, the metropolitan area including the arlington and alexandria, va., Area was at just just 2.7%. The National Unefficient Rate for the Month was 4.1%, Before Slipping to 4% in January,
Broader Labor Picture Still Solid
Namboothiry said the reduction of the federal workforce could present some problems in the region, thought it would do little to dent a national picture that he called “Fairly stable.”
“Yes, the numbers are definitely sizable,” He said. “But because you’re Spread Across Multiple (Geographies), Multiple Skill Sets, Multiple Sectors, I Doing that that Playing A Significant Role in Impacting The Overall Market.”
There are about about 2.4 million federal workers, Excluding post office employees, with nearly one-fifth employed in the dc area and the others spending aRand the Country. Outside of Spikes Around Tax Season, The Number Has Held Fairly Constant Since the Late 1960s.
Still, Trump has targeted the federal employment rolls as a major part of his effort to shrink the size of government.
Displaced Employees May Not Be Out of Work Long, However. Namboothiry thinks their skill sets could be in high demand for certain sector of the economy.
“This presents an opportunity, if there are clients who are looking for talent that’s exiting that may benefit,” He said. “There’s going to be some conversations Around an interest from employers with this pool of talent.”
The cuts that Trump are targeting are spores Around the government, with some agencies expecting dramaatic cuts.
How theSE Displaced Employees Fare will depend on their fields of work, said allison shrivastava, economist at the indeed hiring lab.
“It might be that very few of them remine without work,” She said. “It definite depends on sector. So for example, if you are, as trump ramps up layoffs, Unempolyment claims start to spike in washington, dc you’re in the accounx Erms of Job Postings , We’ve Seen Perform Pretty Well. Say You’re in Software Development … That Jobs Have Not Been As In Demand. ‘ re in. “
