Already there are signs that the District may be on the cusp of a federal-worker exodus. Bright MLS, a Mid-Atlantic real-estate marketplace, reports that in May active listings of available properties on the market increased 41.6 percent compared to last year, a surge that coincided with the federal layoffs. An early May Washington Post-Schar School poll found that 23 percent of D.C. residents were “seriously considering” moving out of the city, including a stunning 45 percent of residents who reported a household member being laid off by the federal government or a federal contractor.
Even if far fewer District residents eventually leave the city, the scale of the DOGE layoffs could result in a significant decline in population. From January through May, federal payrolls shrunk by 59,000, while an additional 130,000 employees lost their jobs but are technically furloughed with pay until either September or until the “Big Beautiful Bill” passes—whichever comes first. More layoffs could follow depending on the outcomes of two emergency cases on federal workers that are pending before the Supreme Court.
The gutting of the federal workforce unfolds amid an already grim economic outlook for Washington, according to Yesim Sayin, executive director of the D.C. Policy Center, a local think tank. The COVID-19 pandemic produced a structural imbalance in the District’s budget caused by the dual pressures of increased spending on health care and social services for the neediest Washingtonians and the collapse of commercial property taxes.
Add new comment