Within hours of taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump ordered all federal departments to begin dismantling all programs related to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility (DEIA) and environmental justice. On Tuesday, the federal agency that oversees employment advised all departments to place everyone working in those capacities on paid leave while developing their reduction-in-force plans.
If the Trump administration follows through, it could mean job losses at one of Northeast Ohio’s largest employers.
Local federal employees by the numbers
There are 55,487 civilian federal employees in Ohio, according to a December 2024 report by the Congressional Research Service. That’s 10th in the United States.
About 16,665 of those federal jobs are located in Greater Cleveland. That number, from Crain’s List of the 100 Largest Employers in Northeast Ohio, makes the federal government the sixth largest employer in the region. (The Cleveland Clinic is first with 51,351. The City of Cleveland is 12th, with 7,457. Cuyahoga County is next with 7,074.)
One of the largest federal employers in Cleveland is the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which manages paychecks for active members of the Navy and Marine Corps as well as pay services for retirees in other branches of the military. DFAS employs about 2,500 people in Cleveland.
The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare system, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, employs another 6,090.
Ohio’s 11th U.S. Congressional District, which includes Cleveland and much of Cuyahoga County, is home to as many as 9,655 federal workers, according to the Congressional Research Service report. The number is an estimate because it’s based on census data, not employment records.
