Slashing trillions of dollars out of the federal budget, which many lawmakers are seeking, will help reduce the deficit. But it could also have a negative impact on small communities across the United States.

 

Cutting the budget means shrinking the size of the federal workforce. And that doesn’t just mean fewer government employees in Washington, DC, because the vast majority of civil servants don’t work inside the Beltway.

 

In fact, it is estimated that about 85% of federal employees live and work outside the nation’s capital.

 

The bulk of the two million-strong government sector is spread throughout the 50 states, and in some rural areas, a federal agency or branch can represent a significant part of the local jobs base.

 

In Christian County, Kentucky, home to the 101st Airborne Division’s headquarters at Fort Campbell, there are more than 1,900 federal civilian jobs. The local economy already is dealing with 11% unemployment, so any cuts out of Washington affecting the U.S. Army could impact Christian County.

 

“The pain also could be felt in tiny rural counties with large federal prisons or Veterans Affairs centers,” writes Ed O’Keefe at The Washington Post. This includes Williamson County, Illinois, which has more than 1,500 federal jobs, Preston County, West Virginia, with 555 federal jobs, Dickinson County, Michigan, with 658 federal jobs, and Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, with 1,936 jobs.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Where Are Most Federal Employees? Not in Washington (by Ed O’Keefe, Washington Post)

Cutting the Debt - and Federal Jobs - as Unemployment Rises (by Dante Chinni, PBS News Hour)