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   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   President Donald Trump’s moves to fire thousands of federal government   
   workers have coincided with a surge in jobless claims in Washington, D.C.,   
   that could get worse as the efforts intensify.   
      
   Since Trump has taken office, nearly 4,000 workers in the city have filed   
   for unemployment insurance as part of a surge that began at the start of   
   the new year, according to Labor Department figures not adjusted for   
   seasonal factors.   
      
   In all, just shy of 7,000 claims have been filed in the six weeks of the   
   new year, or about 55% more than in the prior six-week period. Filings   
   rose to 1,780 for the week ending Feb. 8, a 36% increase from the prior   
   week and more than four times around the same period in 2024.   
      
   By contrast, the total level of claims in the U.S. has been moving little,   
   with the four-week moving average of initial claims at 216,000, little   
   changed from the beginning of the year and actually trending lower for the   
   most part over the past several months.   
      
   The jump in D.C. claims comes as Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of   
   Government Efficiency advisory board have ordered layoffs across the   
   government structure and instituted buyout programs for early retirement.   
      
   “I expect it to go higher, and definitely we’ll be watching it very   
   closely,” said Raj Namboothiry, senior vice president at Manpower North   
   America, the workforce solutions company.   
      
   While it’s unclear what share of the spike is directly related to federal   
   government workers, the rise coincides with the White House ordering the   
   layoffs of probationary employees along with thousands of others as the   
   administration seeks a broad-based reduction in the labor force. In   
   addition, some 75,000 employees have accepted the buyout offer.   
      
   Washington, D.C., had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country   
   at 5.5% as of December 2024, surpassed only by Nevada, according to the   
   Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the metropolitan area including the   
   Arlington and Alexandria, Va., area was at just 2.7%. The national   
   unemployment rate for the month was 4.1%, before slipping to 4% in   
   January.   
      
   Broader labor picture still solid   
   Namboothiry said the reduction of the federal workforce could present some   
   problems in the region, though it would do little to dent a national   
   picture that he called “fairly stable.”   
      
   “Yes, the numbers are definitely sizable,” he said. “But because you’re   
   spread across multiple [geographies], multiple skill sets, multiple   
   sectors, I don’t see that playing a significant role in impacting the   
   overall market.”   
      
   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/unemployment-spikes-washington-dc-   
   trump-musk-rcna192398   
      
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