States rush to hire federal workers out of work after DOGE cuts

To the workers the White House said “goodbye” to, state governments are saying “hello.”

Wisconsin is hosting job fairs next month to snap up the federal workers now on the job hunt after the Trump administration’s “reckless mass firings,” the state announced Thursday. In early March, California put out a call for former federal employees with experience in firefighting and weather forecasting. And in New York, signs at train stations depict the Statue of Liberty pointing a finger at passersby with the message: “DOGE said you’re fired? We say: You’re hired!”

“New York wants you!” the signs read in all capital letters.

Wisconsin, California and New York are among the states that have in recent weeks launched campaigns to reel in candidates from a fresh and massive pool of people newly on the job market: fired federal workers. Since President Donald Trump took office, tens of thousands of federal employees have been caught in his sweeping job cuts, which have been led by billionaire Elon Musk. State and local governments - largely led by Democrats - have taken up hiring former federal workers as their cause, with recruitment drives tailored to those who had once expected to spend their careers in service to the federal government.

“Anyone who is interested in bringing that same commitment to the job is welcome in our state,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) said in a statement Thursday. “We are hopeful that these systems can help bring dedicated and talented workers to Wisconsin state government and communities across the state.”

With Evers’s announcement, Wisconsin joined Hawaii, Virginia, Minnesota, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, along with California and New York, in promoting its jobs to former federal workers. From virtual job fairs to streamlined hiring processes, the states are pitching themselves as a safe haven for the fired workers.

Asked for comment on those efforts last week, White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said in a statement that “Growing the public sector is not President Trump’s definition of job creation.”

Beyond federal workers who have already lost their jobs, those who fear they will soon be in the same boat are also applying elsewhere, looking for an exit as the government has signaled there are more cuts to come.

For government employers, these workers are a “pool of pre-vetted candidates,” meeting high-level requirements and possessing a skill set needed for civil service jobs, said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.

Local and state government jobs were the top destination for employees leaving the federal workforce, according to a new-hire survey recently conducted by ZipRecruiter. About 50 percent of respondents landed in nonfederal government roles, 8 percent in health care and smaller percentages across other industries, Pollak said.

Kathryn Hampton was among those who made the switch from federal to state government work.

Hampton was working as a foreign affairs officer in the State Department. After the 2024 presidential election, she said it became clear her office could face cuts and that she might need to find a new job.

In the months that followed, she applied for multiple openings in the federal government and outside of it. But then came the Trump administration’s funding cuts.

“There was a more significant change than I anticipated,” Hampton said.

The federal jobs she’d applied for - including one she interviewed for - were canceled, she said. As she broadened her job search, Hampton spotted an opening in New York’s state division of human rights, where she now works as a human rights specialist. Her team works on human rights law in New York and antidiscrimination policies in the state.

The selection process, Hampton said, was straightforward. Now, she hopes other federal workers in the job market will consider state and local government jobs as she did.

“The hiring panel was really quick to recognize my transferrable skills and to recognize that I could bring those skills to their team,” she said.

In New York and other states, the hiring spree is ongoing.

It’s too early for a fulsome look at how many of the thousands of jobless federal workers will be hired by state governments. But there are signs that the recruitment campaigns catered to them have caught their eyes and inspired them to send in applications.

In the three weeks after the “New York wants you” signs were placed, the state received more than 1,300 applications, and hired 28 former federal workers. In Pennsylvania - where Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) signed an executive order allowing federal service years to count as state work experience - more than 1,500 current and former federal employees submitted applications, some of them submitting to multiple openings. A spokesperson for Shapiro said the state would “be working to ensure we maximize this opportunity.”

Recruitment efforts have trickled down to cities and counties as well, including D.C.; Fulton County, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; and San Antonio.

Troy Goodnough, the sheriff for Monroe County, Michigan, saw the federal firings as an opportunity to recruit for the 23 law enforcement and corrections divisions jobs he had open.

On Feb. 24, Goodnough sent out a press release calling for “laid off or displaced federal employees” to apply. The sheriff’s office, the release said, was “desperately seeking candidates,” and it promised to contact applicants within 48 hours.

After posting the callout, Goodnough said the office received a number of applications, but was still working through the background and interview process as of last week.

So far, there were no applications that stated they’d applied in response to the callout, Goodnough said, but he’s glad he tried that approach.

“I’m of the mindset, if you don’t ask, you don’t get, right?” he said. “It doesn’t hurt to throw it out there.”