The state’s federal workforce was decimated in October. About 10,000 Maryland federal workers lost their jobs, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It represents the biggest single-month loss of federal jobs in Maryland since at least 1990 — more than double the next closest month.

Economists warned in September that the full extent of federal job losses had yet to be seen, as buyout agreements and deferred resignations at numerous federal agencies hadn’t gone into effect. Marylanders were then forced to wait months for the full picture of state-level jobs data, as the government shutdown in October delayed reports for that month and November until now.

The reality is “sobering,” Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday at a state spending board meeting. He blamed the losses on the Trump administration’s policies, including deep cuts to federal agencies.

The Democratic governor said Washington broke its pact with Maryland. No state has the budget to make up the economic gap left by such steep job losses, Moore said.

Between January and November 2025, the state was down nearly 25,000 federal jobs — the most in the country.

While the bulk of the decline happened in October, the state shed an additional 300 federal jobs in November, the latest month for which data is available.

The dramatic changes in federal employment have been a driving force behind the state’s rising unemployment rate, which in November reached its highest level — 4.2% — since October 2021.

Joseph Mengedoth, a regional economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said the shock to the public sector is reminiscent of impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists are waiting to see if there will be a similar rebound in the coming months.

Maryland gained jobs in other sectors last year, including health care and private educational services, the Maryland Department of Labor reported Wednesday. But the gains pale in comparison to the mounting cuts.

In addition to the federal government, the trade, transportation and utilities sector in Maryland was hit hard in 2025, seeing a 2.6% decline year-over-year.

“Coming into this year, we had very modest growth [and] a number of shocks in terms of uncertainty,” said Andrew Bauer, vice president and regional executive for the Baltimore branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. “I think this really has a lot of people back on their heels, and as a result, you’re just seeing much slower growth here in Maryland than we’re going to see in other places.”

Banner reporters Brenda Wintrode and Sapna Bansil contributed to this article.