As thousands of federal employees lose their jobs and thousands more are faced with the possibility they could be next, D.C.'s government is preparing for a spike in the number of people applying for unemployment insurance.
There's still uncertainty over which federal workers will qualify for benefits, a top official said.
D.C. launched a website on Friday where federal employees can get information.
With so many federal employees based in D.C., a significant spike in applications could put a strain on D.C.'s Department of Employment Services, which processes unemployment insurance claims. When you lose your job, you file for unemployment in the jurisdiction where you work, not where you live.
D.C. has 191,300 federal workers. Of those, 71,226 live in D.C.
At the National Press Club on Friday, Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke about the disproportionate number of federal employees in D.C. and alluded to Elon Musk appearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this week with a chainsaw.
"It is a huge impact, to have people's jobs affected, and so our, really, focus is on making sure we're being supportive of our residents and calling on the government to not use a chainsaw but figure out which jobs we need and which jobs we don't, and that can be done in an orderly way and in a humane way," the mayor said.
D.C.'s employment services director, Unique Morris-Hughes, told reporters it's still unclear if and when federal workers would qualify for benefits, depending on their circumstance. This includes those who took the deferred resignation or if they were probationary workers recently hired or promoted, as well as those who received severance pay.
"We're still waiting on guidance from the Department of Labor," she said. "But generally you're not eligible to receive payments and unemployment insurance payments until you stop receiving wages. So, if you are being paid for the next eight months or you have severance for eight months, It's reasonable to assume that you may not be eligible right away for unemployment insurance benefits."
Morris-Hughes said there's uncertainty if those who voluntarily left their jobs will qualify at all.
"This is a place where we're gonna need the federal government to help us, provide some guidance, so we can make better sense of how this should be treated," she said.
D.C. officials said it's not unusual to see an increase in unemployment claims anytime there's a change in administration. So far, the number of applications is similar to four years ago.
Here's additional data on unemployment in D.C. in recent years, from the Department of Employment Services.
Total number of unemployment insurance claims, by unique claimants:
Total number of approved unemployment insurance claims for federal workers, by unique claimants:
The 2025 total number of unique claims for federal employees that were submitted but not approved or paid yet was 1,480, as of Feb. 22.
The balance of the unemployment fund as of Feb. 20 is $383,758,234.
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