Jobless claims by federal workers on the rise in WA. Here’s where Pierce County stands
New data from Washington’s Employment Security Department shows Pierce County No. 2 in the state with unemployment claims filed so far by federal workers.
Among the top 10 counties where affected federal employees live, King County was No. 1 with 207 claims. Pierce County was listed at No. 2 with 82 claims, followed by Kitsap County with 59, Clark County with 54 and Spokane County with 47.
Rounding out the top 10 were Snohomish County with 39 claims, Thurston County with 35, Whatcom County at 34, Chelan County at 30 and Clallam County with 28.
ESD said in its release issued on March 6, “Some claims came before the mass layoffs of the Trump administration, which took office Jan. 20.”
It noted that this year, employees from 52 federal agencies and all 39 Washington state counties have filed unemployment claims, with 19 counties in single digits with claims.
While Pierce County was No. 2 in number of claims filed, it came in No. 3 in the state for total number of federal workers employed, with 11,389 (civilian), behind Kitsap County (21,145) and King County (18,917).
The total number of claims from recently laid-off federal employees is double from the same time last year, according to ESD.
The total included 703 claims filed since Jan. 20 and 526 claims filed since Feb. 13, “an average of 25 per day the last 21 days, including weekends,” the release noted.
The 10 federal agencies with the most former Washington employees filing unemployment claims, according to ESD:
▪ U.S. Department of Agriculture, 190 claims.
▪ U.S. Department of the Interior, 116.
▪ U.S. Department of the Treasury, 93.
▪ U.S. Postal Service, 65.
▪ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 64.
▪ U.S. Department Energy, 49.
▪ U.S. Department of the Navy, 45.
▪ U.S. Department of Transportation, 32.
▪ U.S. Department of Defense, 29.
▪ U.S. Department of Commerce, 28.
“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 in the release. “As more federal employees apply for benefits, we’re getting a better picture of the impact.”
The news comes on the heels of fresh concern over a leaked memo this month indicating planned cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs numbering more than 80,000 nationwide.
ESD said on March 6 that if “the trend of federal layoffs continues, Employment Security will update these numbers regularly.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 1:16 PM.
