The U.S. states most impacted by Trump’s wave of federal layoffs

During President Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting, he and Elon Musk confirmed that more federal workers could lose their jobs in the coming weeks. This comes after thousands have already been laid off or have resigned and accepted a severance package.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' February employment report, which will be released on Friday, March 7 will provide the first insight into how these firings have impacted employment across the country. The BLS tracks the number of workers employed in the public sector, and the February report will highlight exactly how many fewer workers Uncle Sam employs.

However, the Department of Labor also releases weekly data on unemployment claims, both new and recurring. For the week ending on February 22, the agency recorded an increase in initial unemployment insurance claims of 22,000 for a total of 242,000. In 2023 and 2024, the number of new claims for the same period did not surpass 215,000.

Compared to the same period last year, the number of continued claims has jumped 3.4 percent to 1.86 million.

The U.S. States most impacted by federal layoffs

Though many government agencies are headquartered in Washington, D.C., federal employees work in offices across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for instance, is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and national parks and forests are staffed by federal workers. This is not to say that all the increases compared to mid-February 2024 are a result of federal layoffs. Some federal workers have been offered severance packages that may make them ineligible to claim unemployment benefits. Nevertheless, the weekly data available at the state level provides the first glimpse into the possible effects of the layoffs.

One state stands far above the rest when it comes to the number of continued claims filed: Kansas.

Continued claims in Kansas have surged by 107.97 percent. In mid-February last year, 5,982 workers were receiving benefits; a year later, that number has nearly doubled to 12,500. KCUR, the Kansas City NPR station, reported last week that 6,000 IRS agents working out of the Kansas City office had been laid off and warned that the firings could delay tax refund distributions. However, any of these layoffs won’t be captured in the data released this week, as it only captures claims made through February 10.

Unsurprisingly, Washington, D.C., though not a state, appears second on the list, with continued claims jumping 53 percent compared to last year. For a city whose economy is tied to federal workers, sudden decreases in employment could have severe consequences for private businesses.

North Carolina has seen claims jump 31.6 percent, while Washington and Utah are the other states that have seen an increase of over twenty percent.

California sees claims jump by the highest number

In terms of raw numbers, California has seen the largest increase in unemployment claims, with 17,000 more workers claiming benefits than during this period last year. The Golden State is home to around 172,000 federal workers, making up about 8.3 percent of the total federal workforce, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Washington follows closely behind California, and Ohio is the only other state that is recording over 10,000 more claims than they were last year.

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