US Officials Packing Up Due to Musk-Style Restructuring… Surge in Washington DC Unemployment

The White House, Brookings Institution, International Monetary Fund (IMF)…

These are all institutions concentrated in Washington D.C., the U.S. capital. A wave of layoffs is sweeping through this ‘heart of international politics’ where the U.S. administrative and judicial branches, the world’s top think tanks, and various international organizations are concentrated. This is the aftermath of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) restructuring led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

According to foreign media including CNBC on the 16th (local time), new unemployment benefit claims in the District of Columbia, which includes Washington DC, totaled 1,780 cases during March 3-8. This is a 36% increase from the previous week and more than four times higher than a year ago. It’s triple the weekly average (560 cases) from last year. During the same period, total new unemployment claims in the U.S. decreased by 7,000 to 216,000 cases.

Over the past six weeks, unemployment benefit claims in the District of Columbia have increased by 55% compared to the previous six weeks. This is the steepest rise since the 2008 financial crisis. Analysis suggests that Washington D.C.’s unemployment rate has surged since President Donald Trump’s inauguration last month on the 20th.

President Trump appointed CEO Musk as the head of DOGE during his president-elect period in November last year. The aim was to restructure the bureaucracy-ridden federal government. CEO Musk pressured the federal government by criticizing bureaucracy even before his official inauguration.

Many employees resigned early anticipating mass layoffs. By the end of last year, Washington D.C.’s unemployment rate hit 5.5%, the highest in the U.S. This is double the national average (2.7%).

DOGE accelerated restructuring after the Trump administration officially launched on the 20th of last month. Large-scale workforce reductions were implemented across various departments including the White House and Department of Energy. According to CNBC, approximately 75,000 people have taken early retirement since the administration’s launch.

Amid the wave of layoffs, Washington D.C. housing prices are also declining. From November last year when the U.S. presidential election was held until last month, the median home sale price in Washington D.C. fell by about 20% year-over-year to $139,000.

The depressed atmosphere in Washington D.C. is expected to persist long-term. This is because the Trump administration has announced plans to reduce federal government employees by about 10%. On the 13th, the U.S. government ordered the dismissal of all probationary employees who have worked less than one year in federal agencies.

Reporter Oh Hyun-woo ohw@hankyung.com