Employment Security: Federal worker unemployment claims double from previous year

Released on

Name
Chris Barron, Communications Director
Email
media@esd.wa.gov

OLYMPIA – Unemployment claims from recently laid off federal employees has doubled from this time last year, and new data shows where those federal employees previously worked and currently live.

As of March 5, 952 federal employees have applied for unemployment benefits with the Employment Security Department since the start of 2025, compared to 472 at this time last year. That includes:

  • 703 claims filed since Jan. 20.
  • 526 claims filed since Feb. 13, an average of 25 per day the last 21 days, including weekends.

Although unemployment claims for federal employees are a small percentage of all weekly unemployment claims (5,756 weekly claims were received the week of Feb. 22), they are usually more complex and take longer to process. This is partly due to extended response times from federal agencies to verify employment and wages.

“Along with the Governor’s Office, and our state and local partners, Employment Security is monitoring the status of the federal situation and actively working to support federal workers every day,” Employment Security Commissioner Cami Feek said. “As more federal employees apply for benefits, we’re getting a better picture of the impact. And the more data we have, the better we can help them file their claims and find new jobs.”

Top federal employers in Washington state and where employees work

Washington state has approximately 76,000 federal employees, according to the latest Quarterly Census of Employment Wages data located on the QCEW page at Employment Security’s website.

Graphic that lists the top five federal employers in Washington and the top five counties in Washington where federal employees work.

The top 10 federal employers in our state include:

  1. U.S. Department of Defense (civilian), 31,780.
  2. U.S. Postal Service, 11,769.
  3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 10,177.
  4. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 4,599.
  5. U.S. Department of Transportation, 2,237.
  6. Bonneville Power Administration, 1,766.
  7. U.S. Forest Service, 1,563.
  8. Social Security Administration, 1,205.
  9. U.S. Secret Service, 935.
  10. Common Support Service Office (U.S. Department of the Navy), 914.

The top 10 counties where federal workers are employed:

  1. Kitsap, 21,145.
  2. King, 18,917.
  3. Pierce, 11,389.
  4. Spokane, 5,132.
  5. Clark, 3,941.
  6. Snohomish, 2,524.
  7. Walla Walla, 1,902.
  8. Whatcom, 1,581.
  9. Island, 1,370.
  10. Yakima, 1,298.

Where affected federal employees worked and live

Since the start of the year, federal workers who live in Washington state have been impacted by layoffs. Some claims came before the mass layoffs of the Trump administration, which took office Jan. 20. In 2025, employees from 52 federal agencies and all 39 Washington state counties have filed unemployment claims. Nineteen counties have single-digit claims.

Graphic that lists the top five counties where federal employees have filed unemployment claims and the top five industries where federal employees were laid off.

The 10 federal agencies with the most former Washington employees filing unemployment claims, are:

  1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 190 claims.
  2. U.S. Department of the Interior, 116.
  3. U.S. Department of the Treasury, 93.
  4. U.S. Postal Service, 65.
  5. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 64.
  6. U.S. Department Energy, 49.
  7. U.S. Department of the Navy, 45.
  8. U.S. Department of Transportation, 32.
  9. U.S. Department of Defense, 29.
  10. U.S. Department of Commerce, 28.

The top 10 counties where those impacted federal employees live are:

  1. King County, 207 claims.
  2. Pierce County, 82.
  3. Kitsap County, 59.
  4. Clark County, 54.
  5. Spokane County, 47.
  6. Snohomish County, 39.
  7. Thurston County, 35.
  8. Whatcom County, 34.
  9. Chelan County, 30.
  10. Clallam County, 28.

If the trend of federal layoffs continues, Employment Security will update these numbers regularly. 

To view state and county data (number of federal employees), visit the Covered Employment (QCEW) webpage on Employment Security’s website and download the 2024 Q2 preliminary file under “recent files.”

Additional information

  • More information about eligibility, applying for unemployment benefits as a federal employee and priority access for federal employees who are military veterans is available on the groups with special rules page at Employment Security’s website. 
  • Federal employees seeking new jobs and careers can visit one of the more than 30 WorkSource offices around the state for specific services, such as job listings and referrals, hiring events, resume and job application help and trainings, and more. Visit WorkSourceWA.com to find a location.