Unemployment is low, but there isn’t much room to move around — especially for those with highly government-specific skills.
For about a year now, the labor market has existed in a state of eerie calm: Not many people were losing their jobs or quitting, but not many of those seeking work were getting job offers.
The mass layoffs now underway across the federal government, along with its employees who are voluntarily heading for the exits, could disrupt that uneasy equilibrium.
While unemployment is relatively low at 4 percent, those losing their positions could face a difficult time finding work, depending on how well their skills translate to a private sector that does not seem eager to hire.
“Federal workers all across the country are starting to look, and it’s impacting people everywhere,” said Cory Stahle, an economist at the job search platform Indeed. “It’s hard to think this isn’t going to stress test the labor market in the coming months.”
On the eve of the Trump administration, the federal government’s executive branch employed about 2.3 million civilians. It’s not clear how many of those will end up being cut, and how many will get their jobs back after lawsuits over those terminations work through the courts.
But impact of the pace at which government spending is being slashed, along with instructions from the White House budget office for agencies to slice even deeper, could be meaningful.
Are you a federal worker? We want to hear from you.
The Times would like to hear about your experience as a federal worker under the second Trump administration. We may reach out about your submission, but we will not publish any part of your response without contacting you first.
<div id="formpreview" data-host="www.nytimes.com" data-transloadit-id="a1ed58c066d211e5a6ee236a7c31b84b" data-transloadit-signature="6d0f2cdf7ef5011a19f40f3a74b9ccb6b018cef4" data-formdata="{"fields":[{"isRequired":false,"readOnly":false,"helperText":null,"deletable":true,"fieldType":"CurtainField","renderType":"curtain","_id":46196,"id":46196,"attributeSlug":"f8vvmh3oy8qo_curtain","primaryText":"","secondaryText":null,"isNew":false,"hidden":false,"text":"Continue"},{"isRequired":true,"readOnly":false,"helperText":"","deletable":true,"fieldType":"TextInputField","renderType":"text","_id":46179,"id":46179,"attributeSlug":"fy5r366qwkd_text","primaryText":"Which federal agency or department do you work in?","secondaryText":"","isNew":false,"hidden":false,"inputType":"text","textInput":""},{"isRequired":false,"readOnly":false,"helperText":null,"deletable":true,"fieldType":"TextAreaField","renderType":"paragraph","_id":46184,"id":46184,"attributeSlug":"fx6s2ttc3fb_paragraph","primaryText":"Tell us a little bit about your role.","secondaryText":null,"isNew":false,"hidden":false,"rows":10,"textArea":"","lengthUnit":""},{"isRequired":false,"readOnly":false,"helperText":null,"deletable":true,"fieldType":"TextAreaField","renderType":"paragraph","_id":46185,"id":46185,"attributeSlug":"fnpt9gjj094k_paragraph","primaryText":"What changes, if any, have you seen within your workplace during the Trump administration?","secondaryText":null,"isNew":false,"hidden":false,"rows":10,"textArea":"","lengthUnit":""},{"isRequired":false,"readOnly":false,"helperText":"","deletable":true,"fieldType":"IdentityTextField","renderType":"text","_id":46180,"id":46180,"attributeSlug":"fd3udkbkmle_name_identity","primaryText":"What is your name?","secondaryText":"","isNew":false,"hidden":false},{"isRequired":false,"readOnly":false,"helperText":"Email field is required for all forms because of data governance regulations. Only one email field can be added per form. If you need to ask for multiple email addresses, please use the generic Identity field.","deletable":false,"fieldType":"EmailField","renderType":"text","_id":46181,"id":46181,"attributeSlug":"fjtrb7nngo3p_email_identity","primaryText":"What is your email address?","secondaryText":"","isNew":false,"hidden":false},{"isRequired":false,"readOnly":false,"helperText":null,"deletable":true,"fieldType":"TextInputField","renderType":"text","_id":46183,"id":46183,"attributeSlug":"fmth07hq4g7n_text","primaryText":"How would you like us to contact you?","secondaryText":"If you prefer to be contacted some other way (such as by phone or Signal), please let us know here.","isNew":false,"hidden":false},{"isRequired":false,"readOnly":false,"helperText":null,"deletable":true,"fieldType":"TextAreaField","renderType":"paragraph","_id":46195,"id":46195,"attributeSlug":"frrrbz41av7_paragraph","primaryText":"Anything else we need to know?","secondaryText":null,"isNew":false,"hidden":false,"rows":10,"textArea":"","lengthUnit":""}],"isOpen":true,"closedMessage":"We are no longer accepting submissions.","thanksMessage":"Thank you for your submission.","mediaExportEnabled":false,"mediaExportSlug":null,"documentUploadsEnabled":false,"reply_to_email":"sources@nytimes.com","sourcepoolOptin":false,"retentionPeriod":"1","name":"Are you a federal worker? We want to hear from you.","headline":"Are you a federal worker? We want to hear from you.","slug":"federal-workers","createdBy":"urvashi.uberoy@nytimes.com","scoopAssetId":"100000010033603","sheetSyncEnabled":null,"exportIdentityFields":null,"exportTags":null,"sheetSyncSpreadsheetId":null,"autoReplyBlastId":"","addendum":"You can also submit information to us using our tips page.”,”switchboardFieldSlug”:null,”id”:8008}” data-reader-facing-places-api-key=”AIzaSyD18AYwwKzbkCE5iHLGDY4qMXaBaIkMIBg”>
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Source: Economy - nytimes.com
