Job market pulse

Most federal workers impacted by the government shutdown have seen their first payday without a check. Others on a different pay cycle would shortly after. At least 1 million federal employees are impacted. Reports indicate that many workers have dipped into retirement funds, while others have turned to food banks for support.

Federal layoffs amid the government shutdown have begun. Several agencies, including the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services have been impacted.

Several federal unions have filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from conducting mass layoffs amid a potential government shutdown. The unions say the Trump administration is moving away from the precedent that typically sees federal workers furloughed rather than fired.

A memo from the Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to prepare for mass firings instead of furloughs if a government shutdown occurs. Agencies have been instructed to identify business sectors that depend on federal funding and began the process of slashing. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders have called the move an intimidation tactic.

President Donald Trump moved to have the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics fired after a July jobs report showed a slowdown in hiring over three months. Trump said the Biden appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, was incompetent and not qualified to serve as Commissioner of Labor Statistics. According to the report, the U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs, a figure well below economists’ predictions.

The Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s block on President Donald Trump’s plan to cut thousands of federal jobs. Sweeping cuts across 22 federal agencies are set to resume, with the Trump administration saying the move is necessary to streamline government and cut waste.

Layoffs in March 2025 neared the record highs of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by the firings of thousands of federal employees under Department of Government Efficiency initiatives. Government workers accounted for nearly 80% of the month’s layoffs.

The federal government revised its estimates of job creation for the year ending in March 2024. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said 589,000 fewer jobs had been created than the agency had previously reported. But such revisions are normal, and the agency had estimated the downward revision would be 818,000 jobs.

Six hundred engineers, data analysts and product managers for The New York Times went on strike right before the 2024 presidential election, threatening the newspaper’s coverage of the significant event. The staff provided support for NYT’s digital operations, including live election tools. Workers urged users to support them by stopping the use of NYT’s apps and games. The strike had little effect on election night coverage, and the workers returned a week later without a new contract.

A push by former President Joe Biden to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles prompted concerns by some in labor unions. Members of auto workers unions, especially those working on gasoline-powered vehicles, expressed concern over the transition to EVs and how that might cause job displacement and an unequal distribution of benefits. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said the union supports the transition to EVs, but that it must be “a just transition.”