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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. 

(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.

graph showing change in number of federal jobs

While the nation has now seen a net loss of 2 percent of all federal government jobs since the start of the year, the broader market has seen a gain of 0.3 percent, 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 percent of federal jobs held by men, compared to a loss of 0.8 percent of federal jobs held by women.

Graph showing monthly percentage change in federal jobs for women and men

The federal government employs nearly 3 million Americans, comprising just under 2 percent of all non-farm employment, making it 

Findings about changes in federal government employment from 

, featuring survey data through mid-April, include: 

Map showing change in federal jobs by state

How are the recent federal job cuts affecting specific metro areas? 

Roughly 90 percent 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.

 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 

 — so layoffs occurring between April 12 and May 12 will be picked up in next month’s report, scheduled for June 24.

Findings from the most recent metropolitan jobs report, specifically focused on the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, include:  

table showing federal jobs and recent changes in numbers of federal jobs, by metro area

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.

Elisabeth Gawthrop

Author

Craig Helmstetter

The federal government employed more than 3 million Americans at the start of 2025, but that is rapidly changing under the Trump administration.

Monthly change in number of federal government jobs, Jan-Apr 

Federal job watch: May sees single largest monthly loss so far this year

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