DC Region Lost 6K Federal Jobs In A Year, New Report Finds

The Washington metropolitan area lost 62,100 federal jobs from January 2025 to January 2026, bringing the region’s federal workforce to its lowest level since 1990, according to a new economic trends report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

The report says those losses were part of about 103,900 jobs lost overall in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area during that period. The analysis, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, also found the region’s unemployment rate rose from 3.8 percent in December 2025 to 4.4 percent in January 2026.

COG compared the Washington area with peer metropolitan regions and found the decline here outpaced most of them. The Washington area saw a 16.5 precent drop in federal jobs over the one-year period, compared with 7.4 percent in New York and 10.1 percent in Philadelphia, according to the report. Baltimore was the only nearby region with a larger proportional decline, losing 20.5 percent of its federal jobs over the same period.

The report states that federal downsizing occurred across the country, but had a disproportionate effect on the Washington, D.C. region because of its high concentration of federal workers. COG said the Bureau of Labor Statistics federal jobs data used in the report is available dating back to 1990.

For communities across Greater Washington and Northern Virginia, including Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County and Loudoun County, the data points to a labor market under added strain as federal employment shrinks and overall job losses mount.

“The numbers are stark. We cannot achieve long-term economic resilience without coordinated action,” COG Executive Director Clark Mercer said.

Mercer said regional leaders have already started discussing a response. “COG was pleased to see that Mayor Bowser, Governor Spanberger, and Governor Moore have already met twice to discuss workforce development and other issues, and area leaders have been working across the public, private, nonprofit, and higher education sectors to advance several new collaborations. We need to build on this momentum.”

The report did not outline specific new policies or a timetable for action, but it said regional leaders are discussing workforce development and related issues as the job losses continue to affect the metropolitan Washington economy.

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