Unemployment Insurance claims continue to rise
San José, CA – On Thursday, February 27, the Department of Labor reported that new claims for unemployment insurance jumped by 22,000, or 10% in the week ending February 22. New claims for UI have risen substantially in the first weeks of the new Trump administration. The total increase in new claims has been 34,000 or 15%.
The Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees or UCFE is counted separately and takes a week longer to report. New claims for UCFE show a 20% jump since Trump’s inauguration, more than the increase in UI claims. But this number is likely to understate the impact of the federal employees firings, as they may be denied UCFE because their termination letter says that they are being fired because of poor performance.
The DOGE chainsaw wielded by Elon Musk and backed by Trump is spreading to the private sector through suspension of grants and less overall spending by former federal employees. New claims for unemployment insurance in the Washington, DC aera, where many federal employees live, are rising even faster than the country as a whole. Washington DC new claims have almost doubled since Trump took office.