Canceled federal pay raises take $882 million from area economy

When President Trump canceled 2019 federal pay raises, he potentially removed $882 million from the area economy. That’s the estimate of economist Stephen Fuller of George Mason University, as quoted in the Washington Business Journal.

 

The impact will not be as severe as it would have been a few years ago, when federal workers made up a larger proportion of the area workforce. So far this year, 4,600 federal jobs have been lost in the Washington area, representing about $700 million in wages.

 

Still, the area economy remains robust, with a projected 2019 gross regional product of $585.9 billion – up quite a bit from this year’s $528.9 billion.