At least 7,000 federal workers filed for unemployment benefits since shutdown began

More than 7,200 federal workers filed initial jobless claims last week, according to data posted on an obscure Labor Department website

More than 7,200 federal workers filed initial jobless claims last week, according to data posted on an obscure Labor Department website.

The site shows 7,224 federal workers filed claims with the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program for the week ending Oct. 11.

The numbers, which were first reported by Bloomberg News, are released on a one-week delay.

According to the program’s fact sheet, “The UCFE program provides unemployment compensation for Federal employees who lost their employment through no fault of their own.”

The timing of the surge of claims lines up with the first full week of the government shutdown and the Trump administration’s announcement of layoffs at numerous government agencies.