Dive Brief:
- One year after the Department of Government Efficiency began initiating tens of thousands of voluntary and involuntary layoffs in the federal government, a program designed to connect former federal employees with jobs in local government says it has helped place 187 public servants — or roughly one hire every two days.
- Civic Match, run by the nonprofit Work for America, announced that more than 12,000 public servants, along with 258 state and local governments, have used its platform since DOGE was created. The majority of hires — 63% — have eight or more years of public sector experience.
- Approximately 40% of hires through the platform have been for human resources or operational roles, according to a news release, with public health and human services following at 14% of hires and education and workforce roles at 7%. “Ironically, DOGE created a new market for public sector workers,” the Civic Match report said.
Dive Insight:
DOGE, helmed by tech billionaire Elon Musk, was established through a Jan. 20, 2025, executive order with the stated aim of maximizing “government efficiency.” The department soon began targeting government jobs for elimination.
More than 322,000 federal employees exited between Jan. 20 and November, according to recent data from the Office of Personnel Management.
Civic Match launched its Spotlight Cities program for displaced federal workers last year.
The vast majority of federal workforce reductions have so far been in the Department of Defense, with 61,633 reductions in personnel, according to an analysis by Partnership for Public Service. The Department of the Treasury follows with 31,644, followed by the Department of Agriculture with 21,624.
Civic Match said Health and Human Services, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the General Services Administration, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation were the top users of Spotlight Cities.
Nathaniel Haight, a former USAID education advisor, now works for the city of Indianapolis overseeing grant compliance.
“It feels great — looking out my window and being able to see the impact we’re having right outside,” Haight said in a press release. At USAID, Haight said the focus was often on finding local solutions.
“Now I get to be part of the local solution, and that’s motivating and inspiring,” he said.
Many former federal employees are relocating for local government job opportunities, according to Civic Match data, with one in three moving to a different state. As many as 22% moved at least 100 miles, and 10% relocated cross-country.
As of last year, around 80% of the federal workforce worked outside of Washington, D.C.
Civic Match also announced plans to incorporate artificial intelligence into its platform in the coming year to speed up profile creation, job posting and candidate discovery.
DOGE is now defunct, with the results of its cost-cutting measures still largely in question.
