Government shutdown could affect thousands of Bay Area, California jobs

California and the Bay Area have each seen federal jobs disappear in 2025. With a government shutdown now in effect, most of the federal workers still employed won’t be getting paid.

That’s a lot of checks, based on the most recently available numbers for federal government employment totals.

In August, California had 248,000 federal government jobs, according to seasonally adjusted numbers that Beacon Economics derived from monthly jobs reports released by the state Employment Development Department.

During that same month, the Bay Area had 41,000 federal jobs, Beacon estimates show. August is the most recent month for which nonfarm payroll figures are available for the Bay Area and California.

The San Francisco-San Mateo region had 13,400 federal government jobs in August, the most among the Bay Area’s three major urban centers. The East Bay had 12,500, while the South Bay had 9,800, Beacon estimates show.

All three regions had been losing jobs at a noticeable pace so far in 2025 and compared to a year ago.

Over the first eight months of 2025, California lost 5,700 federal government jobs, Beacon and EDD estimates show.

The Bay Area so far in 2025 has lost 1,900 federal jobs. This decline includes a loss of 800 in the East Bay, 700 in the San Francisco-San Mateo region and 200 in the South Bay.

This news organization’s analysis of the pace of the cutbacks shows that the federal job losses in the Bay Area are more severe than what is happening statewide.

So far in 2025, California’s federal workforce has declined 2.2%. The Bay Area, however, has experienced a 4.4% drop in its federal government job totals.

Federal job totals have declined 6% in the East Bay, 5% in the San Francisco-San Mateo area and 2% in the South Bay this year, Beacon numbers show.