Nearly 25,000 federal workers in Maryland lost their jobs in 2025, data shows

Maryland lost nearly 25,000 federal jobs in 2025, including 10,300 during October and November, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

According to Gov. Wes Moore's Office, the latest employment losses reflect deferred resignations that went into effect at the beginning of October. 

Cutting federal jobs 

The end-of-year jobs report comes after the Trump administration carried out a months-long effort in 2025 to reduce federal spending and make the government more efficient, with the help of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), originally helmed by billionaire Elon Musk. 

The effort to lower federal spending included mass layoffs, voluntary buyouts, and the elimination of some government programs that DOGE determined to be wasteful.

Months after stepping down from leading DOGE, Musk said he believed the initiative "stopped a lot of funding that really just made no sense" and was "entirely wasteful."

The latest job report also comes after the U.S. recorded its longest federal government shutdown in October, which impacted thousands of Marylanders who work as federal employees. 

2025 job losses and gains in Maryland 

Between September and November, Maryland's unemployment rate increased from 3.8% to 4.2%, data shows. The current unemployment rate remains below the national average of 4.6%. 

Despite the cuts to the federal workforce, Maryland added thousands of new jobs in the private, state and local government sectors. 

Healthcare jobs in Maryland expanded by nearly 1,400 positions in October and November, and by 12,300 during 2025, according to the governor's office. 

So far during the Moore-Miller administration, Maryland added a total of 94,000 private, state and local government jobs, and employment in those sectors grew by 3.6% since Gov. Moore took office in 2023, according to data from the governor's office. 

Data shows the following industries in Maryland saw the most employment gains in October and November: 

• Health care and social assistance (1,400 jobs) 
• Private educational services (600 jobs)  
• Professional, scientific, and technical services (600 jobs) 
• Wholesale trade (600 jobs) 
• Accommodation and food services (500 jobs)

Comparatively, the following sectors saw the greatest employment losses: 

• Government (federal, state, and local combined, -6,500 jobs)  
• Administrative and support and waste management and remediation (-4,100 jobs)  
• Transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-2,800 jobs)  
• Retail trade (-1,300 jobs) 
• Arts, entertainment, and recreation (-1,100 jobs)