Government jobs surged in June, raising questions over the continued activities of the Department of Government Efficiency following Elon Musk‘s recent exit.
According to Thursday’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), government employment rose by 73,000 in the last month, making it the top contributor to the stronger-than-expected report. Health care followed with the addition of 39,000 jobs.
Why It Matters
The sweeping purge of the federal workforce by Donald Trump‘s administration and the Musk-led advisory department has sharply reduced government staffing levels in the first months of 2025. While many of these dismissals have faced legal challenges, estimates suggest hundreds of thousands may have been let go as a result of DOGE’s actions.
Despite Musk stepping down from his role as the de facto chief of DOGE in May, its operations have continued, albeit in a less aggressive capacity than during his tenure.
What To Know
June’s jobs report surpassed the expectations of analysts. The economy added a total of 147,000 jobs last month, ahead of May’s upwardly revised 144,000 and consensus forecasts of only 100,000. The unemployment rate also ticked down to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent, while initial jobless claims eased from 237,000 to 233,000.
The encouraging data follows a string of weak reports on the health of the U.S. labor market. On Wednesday, payroll firm ADP published its national employment report, revealing that the private sector had lost 33,000 jobs in June, far below the anticipated increase of 95,000.
While government employment rose dramatically in June, the increase is unlikely to be tied to DOGE or any sudden rehiring by those agencies impacted by its actions. In its report, the BLS noted that this growth was led by state government employment increasing by 47,000, primarily in education (40,000), with local government education roles increasing by 23,000.
Meanwhile, employment in the federal government – where DOGE has been solely focused – declined by a further 7,000. Michael Conerly, Senior Portfolio Manager at Exencial Wealth Advisors told Newsweek that the increased educational jobs in June likely represented “a seasonal adjustment for hiring of teachers.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Nancy Vanden Houten, Senior Economist at Oxford Economics, similarly told Newsweek that the surge in local government jobs was likely “overstated and reflects seasonal factors attempting to correct for teachers and other workers in education leaving their jobs for the summer. “
According to the BLS, total job losses in the federal government this year have reached 69,000. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimates that the actions of DOGE have resulted in more than 280,000 planned layoffs this year, which includes both direct headcount reductions in the federal government, as well as the downstream impact of cancelled contracts and pulled funding for private-sector organizations.
Many of these workers have struggled to find employment since being dismissed from their roles. Those who spoke to Newsweek previously said they were experiencing a bottleneck in the labor market, with their highly specialized roles and talents having few equivalents in the private sector. Many also felt a stigma was attached to their past government employment which had weakened their job prospects.
Reports from the Washington Post and Bloomberg earlier this year found that many of those dismissed from the federal government had been seeking – or sought out for – similar roles at the state and local level.
73,000 government jobs were added in June, weeks after Elon Musk’s dramatic departure from DOGE.
73,000 government jobs were added in June, weeks after Elon Musk’s dramatic departure from DOGE.
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva
However, this is unlikely to account for the increase in government roles in June, according to economist and former chair of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein.
“Are state and local [governments] hiring laid off federal workers? Unlikely, and certainly nothing we can discern from today’s report,” Bernstein wrote on Thursday. “Local jobs in public schools popped up 23,000 in June, which seems inconsistent with the theory that former federal workers are crossing over in state/local gov’t jobs.”
However, the number of federal firings has nevertheless slowed since Musk’s departure. According to a report from the Department of Labor released Thursday, unemployment claims filed by federal government employees fell to 453 in the third week of June, the lowest in seven weeks.
What People Are Saying
Nancy Vanden Houten, Senior Economist at Oxford Economics, told Newsweek: “Federal government employment also didn’t decline as much as expected, slipping 7,000. While court rulings have put wide-scale layoffs on hold, a hiring freeze remains in place and the [Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey] data show a rise in the number of federal workers leaving their jobs voluntarily. “
Melissa Brown, Managing Director of Investment Decision Research at financial services software firm SimCorp, told Newsweek that the federal court orders halting many of the DOGE layoffs could impact the data on federal employment levels, as dismissed employees are “not being counted as being unemployed or looking for work.”
“If that changes the number of people in federal jobs could plunge,” she said, adding that “the concentration of state and local government hiring in education is to be expected, as they start to prepare for the school year.”
What Happens Next?
According to Vanden Houten, DOGE-driven layoffs are likely to continue to impact jobs data throughout the year. She said that “about 75,000 federal workers” who accepted the deferred resignation offer from President Trump earlier this year will “drop off payrolls in October.”