By Adam Pagnucco.
Part One covered the methodology of this series. Part Two covered total employment. Part Three examined private employment. Part Four looked at establishments. Part Five looked at real total wages paid. Part Six covered real total wages paid per job. Today, let’s look at data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on labor market exposure to the federal government in the D.C. region’s ten largest jurisdictions. This topic is a crucial one given the Trump administration’s ongoing cuts to federal funding and jobs.
Let’s start with the percentage of total employment accounted for by the federal government in 2024.
Unsurprisingly, inner ring jurisdictions have a larger federal employment presence than their outer ring neighbors. MoCo’s rate is close to the region total, although the latter is skewed by D.C.
The next chart shows the federal government’s percentage of employment in MoCo and the other nine jurisdictions combined since 2001. MoCo’s federal percentage has been increasing while in the rest of the region, it has been falling. This is partly a consequence of MoCo’s stagnant private sector job growth and is an ominous sign in the era of Trump.
This chart shows 2024 wages paid per job in MoCo by sector: federal government, state government, local government and private. Federal jobs in MoCo stand out for their high pay.
On this measure, MoCo is not alone. The chart below shows federal wages per job as a percentage of total wages per job in 2024 for each of the region’s major jurisdictions. In every single one of them, federal jobs pay better than the jurisdiction average.
This story is not a comparative one but rather a common one. The federal government is an important part of the economy in the entire region. Federal jobs are not only numerous but also pay well. There is additionally a lot of crossover because federal employees often live in one jurisdiction and work in another. Make no mistake: federal cuts in D.C., Virginia or anywhere else nearby will hurt us too through lost income taxes. Trump’s cuts are a threat to us all.
Next: we conclude.