In Fairfax County Monday morning, Virginia’s governor announced a new program to help fired federal workers find new jobs.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin expressed support for the Trump administration’s dismantling of federal agencies.
"We need to press forward and drive efficiencies in our federal government, and as a result of driving those efficiencies, I do expect that some Virginians will lose their jobs," Youngkin said.
Democratic Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Don Scott said the governor is talking out of both sides of his mouth – applauding mass layoffs while also claiming to help those laid off.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
"For the governor to tell people who are losing their livelihoods to go to an unemployment website is shameful,” Scott said. “It's embarrassing; it's dehumanizing."
The website Youngkin launched – VirginiaHasJobs.com – says it links to 250,000 open jobs, including 100,000 in Northern Virginia. It navigates to the websites of some of Virginia’s major companies and to popular job search engines like LinkedIn and Indeed.
But Indeed told News4 the job market would struggle to support the type of workers that are being laid off. Indeed describes the federal workforce as "knowledge workers," meaning they work with their minds, not their hands.
"Given the scale of the announced layoffs ... the private sector may not be hiring enough to absorb these workers," Indeed said.
"Americans voted for a more efficient federal government, and that's exactly what President Trump and the administration are working to deliver," Youngkin said.
He said the Virginia Employment Commission is available to help bridge the gap for fired federal workers. VEC's maximum benefit is $387 per week, which would amount to about $20,000 a year. The Office of Personnel Management reports the average federal worker makes more than five times that.
“It's unfortunate that the governor won't even stand up for the people that elected him,” Scott said. “He won't even stand up for the commonwealth of Virginia to Donald Trump."
About 300 federal workers have filed initial unemployment claims and about 120 federal contract workers have filed claims in Virginia this month, according to the VEC.
Virginia is hosting a statewide virtual hiring event open to anyone from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 5.
Sign up for our free deep-dive newsletter, The 4Front, to get standout News4 stories sent right to your inbox. Subscribe here.
