608 federal workers have filed for unemployment in Colorado — so far — as Trump cuts continue

By Monday, 608 federal workers had filed unemployment claims in Colorado, according to data from the state Department of Labor and Employment.

Most of the initial claims came during February, when the Trump administration began laying off probationary workers in federal agencies nationwide, including forestry workers at the Interior Department, and weather forecasters and researchers at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

About 25 claims were filed last week, according to a labor department spokesperson on Thursday. They expect more.

“While our overall claim volume has remained steady, we are anticipating a continuing increase in federal claims and have taken steps to ensure our processes can handle any increase,” said Philip Spesshardt, the state’s division director of unemployment insurance, in an email.

That includes putting together a team dedicated to working on federal worker claims, setting up a resource page, and routing federal workers calls to a special queue at its call center. The department also scheduled two virtual town halls for Wednesday and Thursday to help federal workers learn the ins and outs of Colorado unemployment and finding a new job. The sessions will be streamed live on the department’s YouTube channel.

Gov. Jared Polis told reporters Thursday that the special state webpage for laid off federal workers also includes a list of about 500 open state jobs that the workers may be interested in.

The rising claims are a change from the two dozen just a few weeks ago. But the earlier data excluded hundreds of workers who didn’t qualify for the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees, possibly because they were newer hires and had previously worked for another employer during the base period considered for unemployment benefits.

The department changed how it tracked federal firings and the 608 number is based on workers whose last employer was a federal agency when they filed for unemployment. 

According to the labor department, 127 of the new claims were folks who worked in the Department of Agriculture, followed by 110 who worked in the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service. 

The biggest county hit so far was Denver, with 99 workers or 16.2% of all claims. Jefferson County, home to the massive Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, was second with 74 workers. 

Statewide, the number of first-time unemployment claims grew by 7%, or 211 claims, to 3,214 claims in Colorado for the week ended March 8. Continued claims, or workers approved for benefits still collecting unemployment, grew 2% to 34,509, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The federal government employs about 57,000 people in Colorado. States harder hit by the federal layoffs are near Washington, D.C., including Virginia, with 235,469 workers; Maryland, with 225,403 workers; and California, with 255,642.according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. In the D.C., Virginia and Maryland region, the latest unemployment claims rose 15% last week from the prior week, according to a local news report. 

A federal judge on Thursday ordered six federal agencies to rehire thousands of probationary workers after finding the firings had been done unlawfully, The New York Times reported.

Colorado’s labor department is also bracing for a possible government shutdown if Congress doesn’t pass a new funding bill by midnight Friday. But any furloughed federal worker who claims unemployment benefits must pay the state back after the shutdown ends and they are paid back wages.

“Our experience is that many of these furloughed workers don’t file for (unemployment) because they will have to pay it all back once they go back to work and get their back pay,” Spesshardt said.