THURGOOD MARSHALL AIRPORT. DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. NO FEDERAL WORKERS GET PAID. MANY OF THEM GET FURLOUGHED. BUT HERE AT BWI, SO MANY ARE CONSIDERED ACCEPTED. THEY ARE REQUIRED TO WORK. THAT INCLUDES HUNDREDS OF TSA OFFICERS, ALONG WITH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AND THE TECHNICIANS WHO KEEP THE SYSTEMS RUNNING. AT BWI, DURING A SHIFT CHANGE TUESDAY, YOU CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER HOW MANY HEADING INTO WORK TODAY WILL BE BACK ON THE JOB TOMORROW, AND HOW MANY OF THEM MIGHT BE WORKING WITHOUT PAY. UNCERTAINTY IN THE AIR AS THE DEADLINE TO AVERT A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS. PASSENGERS HERE ARE AWARE OF THE TIMELINE. I HEARD THAT IT’S GOING TO AFFECT A LOT OF FURLOUGHED WORKERS. A MATTER OF FACT, NOT ONLY IN THE AIRPORTS. HUNDREDS OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WORK AT BALTIMORE’S AIRPORT. NONE OF THEM GET PAID DURING A SHUTDOWN, WHETHER THEY’RE FURLOUGHED OR FORCED TO WORK BECAUSE DEEMED ESSENTIAL. OBVIOUSLY, I THINK IT’S REALLY UNFAIR BECAUSE THEY’RE PUTTING IN THEIR TIME AND HONEST DAY OF WORK, AND THEY SHOULD BE COMPENSATED FOR THAT. TODAY, UNION OFFICIALS AND ELECTED LEADERS. LET’S GIVE IT UP FOR ALL THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HERE. PUSHING FOR PASSAGE OF A SPENDING AGREEMENT TO STAVE OFF A SHUTDOWN. THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WILL LOSE THE MOST IN A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ARE PEOPLE ALL OVER AMERICA WHO ARE GOING TO LOSE THE BENEFIT OF THEIR GOOD WORK. ANYONE WHO FLIES SHOULD CARE ABOUT PREVENTING A SHUTDOWN. ACCORDING TO THE UNION FOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AND PASS, THE ONE REPRESENTING BALTIMORE’S 18 FEDERAL AIR SAFETY TECHNICIANS. THE TECHNICIANS ENSURE THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS, THE NAVIGATIONAL AIDS AND POWER SYSTEMS EVERYTHING THAT’S VITAL TO SAFE AIR TRAVEL AND THE MISSION OF PILOTS AND CONTROLLERS. YOU DON’T WANT FOLKS THAT DO IMPORTANT WORK LIKE THIS TO BE DISTRACTED. GETTING A PHONE CALL FROM A BILL COLLECTOR, OR AN EMAIL THAT’S NOT ANYTHING YOU WANT TO HAVE HAPPEN. IN A STATEMENT, BWI TELLS 11 NEWS REGARDING A POSSIBLE SHUTDOWN, SAFETY AND SECURITY REMAIN OUR HIGHEST PRIORITIES AND WILL NOT BE COMPROMISED. AT BWI, I’M KATE AMARA, WBAL, TV 11 NEWS. THANK YOU KATE. THERE HAVE BEEN TEN GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS SINCE 1977. OUR GET THE FACTS DATA TEAM DIVES INTO THE NUMBERS TO SHOW HOW LONG THOSE FUNDI
Get the Facts: Government shutdown could continue to reshape federal workforce. Here’s how it’s already changed
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Updated: 9:29 PM CDT Sep 30, 2025
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The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo late Wednesday directing agencies to prepare for mass layoffs in the event of a government shutdown.The shutdown could impact an already changing federal workforce. The federal government employed about 2.2 million workers nationwide in March, according to data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.Washington, D.C., had the highest per capita of federal employees, with 20,200 employees per 100,000 residents, according to an analysis of the data by the Get the Facts Data Team.While Washington, D.C., has the highest per capita, other states such as Maryland, Hawaii, Virginia and Alaska had more than 1,500 employees per 100,000 people in March. Connecticut had the lowest per capita, at 232 employees per 100,000 residents.What changes has the federal workforce undergone? In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing government agencies to begin preparing for a reduction in force. Some agencies offered federal employees early resignation packages and a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program. March data from the OPM shows the federal workforce shrank from 2.3 million employees in September 2024 to 2.2 million in March 2025. However, it’s not clear what caused these changes, as employees on administrative leave pending resignation, retirement or release were still counted as current employees.Three months after Trump issued the executive order, the federal government had laid off roughly 49,000 federal employees across 48 agencies and subagencies, according to reporting from the Get the Facts Data Team.No official figure is available for the total number of federal employees laid off. The data team compiled this figure from open court records, agency press releases and media reports.Four months ago, the data team contacted these agencies and received confirmations from only five — NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Education — about their workforce reductions.The Department of Health and Human Services announced on March 12 that it would reduce its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. OPM data, however, shows the agency saw a 350-employee reduction from September 2024 to March 2025. See how government agency employment changed from September 2024 to March 2025 in the table below. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
WASHINGTON — The Office of Management and Budget issued a late Wednesday directing agencies to prepare for mass layoffs in the event of a government shutdown.
The shutdown could impact an already changing federal workforce. The federal government employed about 2.2 million workers nationwide in March, according to data from the .
Washington, D.C., had the highest per capita of federal employees, with 20,200 employees per 100,000 residents, according to an analysis of the data by the Get the Facts Data Team.
While Washington, D.C., has the highest per capita, other states such as Maryland, Hawaii, Virginia and Alaska had more than 1,500 employees per 100,000 people in March. Connecticut had the lowest per capita, at 232 employees per 100,000 residents.
What changes has the federal workforce undergone?
In February, President Donald Trump signed an directing government agencies to begin preparing for a reduction in force. Some agencies offered federal employees early resignation packages and a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program.
March data from the OPM shows the federal workforce shrank from 2.3 million employees in September 2024 to 2.2 million in March 2025. However, it’s not clear what caused these changes, as employees on administrative leave pending resignation, retirement or release were still counted as current employees.
Three months after Trump issued the executive order, the federal government had laid off roughly 49,000 federal employees across 48 agencies and subagencies, according to reporting from the Get the Facts Data Team.
No official figure is available for the total number of federal employees laid off. The data team compiled this figure from open court records, agency press releases and media reports.
Four months ago, the data team contacted these agencies and received confirmations from only five — NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Education — about their workforce reductions.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced on March 12 that it would reduce its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. OPM data, however, shows the agency saw a 350-employee reduction from September 2024 to March 2025.
See how government agency employment changed from September 2024 to March 2025 in the table below.
