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by ELISABETH GAWTHROP and CRAIG HELMSTETTER | June 11, 2025
President Donald Trump’s administration has been reshaping the federal government since he assumed office in January. Among the dramatic changes: layoffs of thousands of federal workers.
National data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicate there were 59,000 fewer federal jobs in mid-May compared to the start of the Trump administration. This includes a net loss of 22,000 jobs in May, following monthly losses of 13,000 or fewer in February, March and April.
While the nation has now seen a net loss of 2% of all federal government jobs since the start of the year, the broader market has seen a gain of 0.3%, or 510,000, non-farm jobs.
Still a federal job “he-cession” despite greater losses among women in April
The BLS jobs data include very little demographic data, but they do show job gains and losses by gender, lagging one month prior to the overall numbers. From March to April women experienced a larger net loss of federal jobs, 8,000, than did men, 5,000.
Still, due to the higher level of net federal job loss among men in February and March (that we reported on in greater detail last month), the running tally of net losses to men, 25,000, is more than twice the losses experienced by women, 12,000. Put differently, as of mid-April there had been a net loss of 1.6% of federal jobs held by men, compared to a loss of 0.8% of federal jobs held by women.
Federal job change by state
The federal government employs nearly 3 million Americans, comprising just under 2% of all non-farm employment, making it the nation’s single largest employer.
Findings about changes in federal government employment from the most recent state-level jobs report, featuring survey data through mid-April, include:
Maryland and Virginia have had the highest net loss of federal jobs since January, at 5,900 and 5,100, respectively. New York, Florida and Georgia are the only other states that have lost 1,000 or more federal jobs.
Maryland and Virginia have also seen the highest percentage loss in federal jobs, at 3.6% and 2.6%, respectively. New Mexico and Hawaii are the only other states to have lost more than 2% of their federal workforce so far this year.
Five states have seen small net increases in federal jobs so far this year: Indiana, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Utah and Vermont.
The four states with the highest percentages of federal jobs are Maryland, Hawaii, Virginia and Alaska. Federal government jobs there make up over 4% of all non-farm employment in those states.
In Washington D.C. — the District itself, not the metro area — about one-quarter of those employed are in the federal government. From January to April, D.C. lost 2,400 federal jobs, equivalent to about 1.2% of its federal workforce.
How are the recent federal job cuts affecting specific metro areas?
Roughly 90% of federal workers are based outside of the Washington D.C. metro area, making federal employment an important part of the workforce throughout the nation.
The newly released monthly metropolitan jobs report for April showed that, at least so far, federal job losses in most metro areas are minimal. Note that the reference day for these monthly reports is the 12th day of the month — so layoffs occurring between April 12 and May 12 will be picked up in next month’s report, scheduled for June 24, 2025.
Findings from the most recent metropolitan jobs report, specifically focused on the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, include:
The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area lost 9,000 federal jobs from January to April, numerically the largest loss of any major metropolitan area.
The next highest losses were experienced by the Baltimore metro area (2,500 jobs lost), the Virginia Beach metro area (-1,000), the New York metro area (-800) and the Honolulu metro (-800).
Fifteen of the 100 largest metro areas gained federal employment, led by the Indianapolis and Dallas metro areas, each adding 700 federal jobs.
Proportionally, the biggest losses of federal jobs from January to April were in the metropolitan areas centered around Baltimore, Maryland (-4.5%), Portland, Maine (-3.9%), Hartford, Connecticut (-3.5%) and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (-3.2%).
Thirty-nine of the nation’s 100 largest metros broke even, with neither gains nor losses of federal jobs according to the BLS data.
Technical notes: According to Bureau of Labor Statistics’ definitions, government employment covers only civilian employees; military personnel are excluded. Employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency are also excluded. Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.