Maryland has not yet seen a surge in unemployment insurance applications as federal government employees face layoffs under the new Presidential administration, but the state is preparing to make sure residents are supported, according to State Labor Secretary Portia Wu.
“We continue to see real consequences from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, on the people who live and work in Montgomery County, and frankly on the people of the nation,” County Executive Marc Elrich said during a media briefing Thursday.
During the briefing, Wu said the state has been gearing up for this possibility — “we’ve seen this could be coming for some time.”
The labor department has been hiring additional staff. The state is starting to see federal contractor workers being laid off and coming in, but impacts are still in the early days — “we should know more in the coming weeks and months,” she said.
“I don’t want to sugarcoat it, it could be very challenging depending on the volume,” Wu said. “We are planning for all sorts of different scenarios.”
Elrich noted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a large presence in Montgomery County including the FDA and NIH. About 77,550 federal employees are estimated to live in the county.
“This is not an efficiency rampage. This is a rampage against the foundation of our government, and it’s really disturbing,” Elrich said.
The state has existing infrastructure to address these needs, like during previous recessions. Wu said the state will rely on job centers and unemployment insurance but is “beefing up,” like with weekly virtual workshops for former federal employees. Wu directs former federal workers to a dedicated resource page: labor.maryland.gov/federalworkers for information about unemployment insurance benefits and employment support. Wu emphasized individuals should file for unemployment insurance in the state/district of their duty station.
Elrich said the county is planning a town hall soon, like ones led by Rep. Jamie Raskin and Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks for federal workers.
