Government Shutdown Pushes Nearly 200 Oregon Federal Employees to File for Unemployment

The ongoing government shutdown saw 178 federal employees living in Oregon claiming unemployment compensation last week, according to the Oregon Employment Department (OED).

These figures will continually change as additional information becomes available, says the OED in a press release.

The 178 federal employees do not represent the total number of furloughed federal employees in Oregon who have applied for unemployment benefits.

Increase in Unemployment Claims from Federal Workers

The OED confirms that the number of new applications from federal workers has increased in recent weeks. However, OED can only estimate figures because it takes weeks for claims from federal employers to be processed and confirmed.

That delay is caused by the fact that the federal government does not submit quarterly wage data to OED. Also, it can take weeks for OED to receive information after a federal employee files a claim.

However, the agency states that  the government shutdown has played a limited role in the overall increase of unemployment benefit applications in the state, as federal employees only represent 1.5% of Oregon’s workforce.

Initial claims were 25% higher over the past two weeks, and weekly claims also increased during that period. However, these increases fall within OED projections as the agency enters its busiest period of the year – October to February – when unemployment is at its highest.

OED provides detailed guidance for federal employees at its Federal Shutdown page.