Federal jobs watch: Just-released February jobs report shows few losses in Minnesota

President Donald Trump’s administration has been reshaping the federal government since assuming office in January. Among the dramatic changes: Layoffs of thousands of federal workers.

After two court cases halted the layoffs last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration could move ahead with its firing of probationary employees. The case was decided, however, based on the legal standing of the organizations filing the suit, so it is possible the court could still later rule the firings illegal.

National data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate there were around 15,000 fewer federal workers in mid-March compared to the start of the Trump administration, which is similar to layoff numbers shared in court proceedings. That 15,000 figure is roughly equivalent to around 0.5 percent of the total federal government workforce.

The federal government employs about 3 million Americans, making it the nation’s single largest employer. And while federal employees are concentrated in the Washington, D.C., area, close to 90 percent are based elsewhere, making up an important part of the workforce throughout the nation.

For example, the federal workforce includes nearly 34,000 jobs in Minnesota. Over 20,000 are located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Another 9,200 are split between six other metro areas throughout the state, many of which (like the Twin Cities region) stretch into neighboring states. Additional federal jobs are located in rural areas, such as the park rangers located in Voyageurs National Park.

The bureau’s jobs report shows a loss of 100 federal jobs through Minnesota from January to February. Surprisingly, the report showed a gain of 100 federal jobs in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro — making it one of only eight metropolitan areas in the nation with federal job gains in that month.

How are the recent cuts affecting specific metro areas throughout the nation? 

On Wednesday the bureau issued its monthly metropolitan jobs report, this one featuring statistics about February employment. This monthly look at nonfarm payroll jobs is our first chance to systematically gauge how federal cuts are impacting the nation’s metro areas.

According to these data, so far, the impacts to most metro areas are minimal. However, that has a lot to do with the timing and reference period for the data. Each month the thousands of employers who respond to the survey that fuels the report are asked about the numbers of employees on their payroll as of the 12th day of the month.

The new administration’s first big federal job action came with the flurry of executive actions signed by Trump on inauguration day, when tens of thousands of government jobs were stripped of job protections. The first round of large-scale layoffs, however, did not happen until Feb. 13 — one day after the jobs report reference period — when thousands of workers in the initial probationary periods of their jobs were let go.

Still, this first report since Trump took office does show some initial movement. And it shows how many federal jobs are in each metro areas, providing at least some clues about where the biggest impacts may be seen in months to come.

Findings from the most recent jobs report, specifically related to the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, by number of jobs:  

• Washington, D.C., lost 3,700 federal jobs from January to February, numerically the largest loss of any major metropolitan area. That’s a third of the total number of federal jobs lost, while the metro area only employs around a tenth of the federal workforce.  

• No other metro area lost even 1,000 jobs. The next highest losses were experienced by the New York and Baltimore metro areas (600 and 500 jobs lost, respectively), followed by losses of approximately 400 federal jobs each in the Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and Los Angeles metro areas. 

• Eight of the 100 top metro areas gained federal workers. Dallas added the most with 600 new federal jobs, an increase of 1.2 percent. Indianapolis came in second with 300 new jobs, or a 1.5 percent increase. 

• The Allentown, Pa., metropolitan area saw the biggest percent change, losing 100 federal jobs, but amounting to a 3.8 percent loss of its federal workforce between January and February.  

• The next largest percentage losses were experienced by similarly small metro areas, including Portland, Maine ( -2.9 percent), Grand Rapids, Mich. ( -2.6 percent), Lexington, Ky. ( -2.1 percent), McAllen, Texas ( -2.0 percent) and New Haven, Conn. ( -2.0 percent). All of the metros in this list all had fewer than 10,000 federal employees as of February 2025. 

• Washington, D.C., has the highest concentration of federal government jobs at 11.1 percent of total jobs. The metros with the next highest concentrations of federal jobs are Virginia Beach, Va. (7.4 percent), Huntsville, Ala. (7.4 percent), Honolulu, Hawaii (7.0 percent), and Dayton, Ohio (5.4 percent). 

Much more to come 

More impacts of the initial rounds of cuts will show up in next month’s metro jobs report, which will include the breakdown by city of the 5,000 additional cuts noted in the national report for March. (The national report does not include numbers specific to states or metropolitan areas, those local reports typically lag the national report by one month.)

And, with federal agencies directed to come up with plans for further “large scale reductions in force” by mid-March, federal employee job counts are likely to be negative for months to come. When and where those cuts will hit hardest is yet to be seen. 

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.

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