# Allison Shrivastava, Cory Stahle and Laura Ullrich report in Indeed Hiring Lab: Federal job searches rise [Canonical reading](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/allison-shrivastava-cory-stahle-and-laura-ullrich-report-in-c8014e58) Published October 10, 2025, Allison Shrivastava, Cory Stahle and Laura Ullrich report for Indeed Hiring Lab that federal workers’ job-search activity had risen since mid-September. As of October 9, applications started by federal workers were 157% above their January 1 levels. The authors also report more applications after the government shutdown began on October 1 than in the immediately preceding weeks, though activity fell somewhat on October 8 and 9, before reductions in force (RIFs) were announced on October 10. Their analysis captures increased job-search activity during the shutdown period, but does not yet reflect the announced RIFs. The authors say daily updates will help determine whether the shutdown and RIFs affect the proportion of federal employees applying for jobs. Their measure counts workers who started an application on Indeed, whether or not they completed it, and is smoothed using a 7-day moving average. The analysis does not establish whether applicants found jobs or whether the events caused the observed changes. Headline and summary by Escape Meridian, prepared by Luna from the attributed source. A source check is not independent confirmation of the source’s claims. ## Original source Indeed Hiring Lab · Article Original source date: Oct 10, 2025 (2025-10-10). Date basis: Date from the publisher’s archive: its article address or archive listing. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-11T19:33:24.543Z. First observed: 2026-10-30T20:02:48.608Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-30T21:14:07.616Z. - [Real Time Tracking: Federal Workers’ Job Search Activity Amidst a Government Shutdown and RIFs](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 30, 2026; originally published October 10, 2025. The measure tracks applications started on Indeed, not completed applications, job offers, or hires. The article does not establish that the shutdown or RIFs caused the observed changes. ## Open question As daily updates accumulate, how will federal-worker application activity change after the reductions in force announced on October 10? ## Source-stated The authors report that applications started by federal workers had risen substantially above the January 1 level by October 9. > As of October 9, applications started by federal workers measured 157% above their January 1 levels - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source-stated The authors report more federal-worker applications after the shutdown began than in the immediately preceding weeks. > A larger number of federal workers have applied for jobs since the federal government shutdown began on October 1, compared to the immediately preceding weeks. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source-stated The authors say the analysis did not yet reflect the reductions in force announced October 10. > but does not yet reflect reductions in force (RIFs) announced on October 10. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source-stated The authors say future updates will help assess whether the shutdown and RIFs affect the proportion of federal employees applying for jobs. > Future updates to the analysis will help determine whether the ongoing shutdown and RIFs have any effect on the proportion of federal employees applying for jobs. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source-stated The measure counts people who started an Indeed application even if they did not complete it, and uses a 7-day moving average. > Application data is based on the number of workers who started an application on Indeed, regardless of whether they saw the process through, smoothed using a 7-day moving average. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source and contributor context Indeed Hiring Lab · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## Indeed Hiring Lab Indeed Hiring Lab is the economic research arm of the job site Indeed, publishing analyses of job postings, wages and hiring trends. - [Explore this context](/entities/indeed-hiring-lab) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/feed/) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: 441190d8-2c70-17eb-8d7d-c2d7d107c100. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-11T19:28:24.261Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: 48ebd304aa86895d71d04765688f046df0218b885c205298a61c27995f5e731d. Source text hash: 7d1742222928eb1f517d1beb7429faba9bb1f1a35cfb757e5eaa2308aba7ad24. ## Revision and source-check history ### Version 1 — 2026-11-11T19:33:24.543Z Published October 10, 2025, Allison Shrivastava, Cory Stahle and Laura Ullrich report for Indeed Hiring Lab that federal workers’ job-search activity had risen since mid-September. As of October 9, applications started by federal workers were 157% above their January 1 levels. The authors also report more applications after the government shutdown began on October 1 than in the immediately preceding weeks, though activity fell somewhat on October 8 and 9, before reductions in force (RIFs) were announced on October 10. Their analysis captures increased job-search activity during the shutdown period, but does not yet reflect the announced RIFs. The authors say daily updates will help determine whether the shutdown and RIFs affect the proportion of federal employees applying for jobs. Their measure counts workers who started an application on Indeed, whether or not they completed it, and is smoothed using a 7-day moving average. The analysis does not establish whether applicants found jobs or whether the events caused the observed changes. ## Original source Indeed Hiring Lab · Article Original source date: Oct 10, 2025 (2025-10-10). Date basis: Date from the publisher’s archive: its article address or archive listing. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-11T19:33:24.543Z. First observed: 2026-10-30T20:02:48.608Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-30T21:14:07.616Z. - [Real Time Tracking: Federal Workers’ Job Search Activity Amidst a Government Shutdown and RIFs](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 30, 2026; originally published October 10, 2025. The measure tracks applications started on Indeed, not completed applications, job offers, or hires. The article does not establish that the shutdown or RIFs caused the observed changes. ## Open question As daily updates accumulate, how will federal-worker application activity change after the reductions in force announced on October 10? ## Source-stated The authors report that applications started by federal workers had risen substantially above the January 1 level by October 9. > As of October 9, applications started by federal workers measured 157% above their January 1 levels - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source-stated The authors report more federal-worker applications after the shutdown began than in the immediately preceding weeks. > A larger number of federal workers have applied for jobs since the federal government shutdown began on October 1, compared to the immediately preceding weeks. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source-stated The authors say the analysis did not yet reflect the reductions in force announced October 10. > but does not yet reflect reductions in force (RIFs) announced on October 10. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source-stated The authors say future updates will help assess whether the shutdown and RIFs affect the proportion of federal employees applying for jobs. > Future updates to the analysis will help determine whether the ongoing shutdown and RIFs have any effect on the proportion of federal employees applying for jobs. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source-stated The measure counts people who started an Indeed application even if they did not complete it, and uses a 7-day moving average. > Application data is based on the number of workers who started an application on Indeed, regardless of whether they saw the process through, smoothed using a 7-day moving average. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/10/10/federal-workers-job-search-activity-amidst-government-shutdown/) ## Source and contributor context Indeed Hiring Lab · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## Indeed Hiring Lab Indeed Hiring Lab is the economic research arm of the job site Indeed, publishing analyses of job postings, wages and hiring trends. - [Explore this context](/entities/indeed-hiring-lab) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/feed/) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: 441190d8-2c70-17eb-8d7d-c2d7d107c100. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-11T19:28:24.261Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: 48ebd304aa86895d71d04765688f046df0218b885c205298a61c27995f5e731d. Source text hash: 7d1742222928eb1f517d1beb7429faba9bb1f1a35cfb757e5eaa2308aba7ad24. ### passed — 2026-11-11T19:28:24.261Z — anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 Publication: 441190d8-2c70-17eb-8d7d-c2d7d107c100 attribution — pass: The reading correctly attributes the report to Allison Shrivastava, Cory Stahle and Laura Ullrich at Indeed Hiring Lab. It keeps the findings as the authors' reported data rather than as established fact. > By Allison Shrivastava & Cory Stahle & Laura Ullrich summary — pass: The summary accurately conveys the rise since mid-September, the 157% figure, the post-shutdown increase, the slight dip on October 8–9 and the RIFs not yet being reflected. It also explains RIFs as reductions in force and describes the measurement method. The added caveats about causation and hires are framed as limits, not source claims. The question follows from the source's stated plan for updates. A general reader can follow the piece. > the rate of federal government applications fell a bit on October 8 and 9, immediately prior to the reductions in force announced on October 10 date — pass: The October 10, 2025 date, at day precision, matches the source dateline. The page was modified on October 30, 2025, but the cited passages date data to October 9 and anticipate the October 10 RIFs, consistent with the original piece. The reading presents no later events, and it reports the planned updates as intentions, not outcomes. The related-story carousel is not used. > October 10, 2025 support — pass: Each claim is directly supported by verbatim source text. Although the page was edited after publication, the cited passages are tied to the October 9–10 timeframe and appear to be part of the original piece. The caveats on causation and hires are limits on interpretation, not invented claims. > Application data is based on the number of workers who started an application on Indeed, regardless of whether they saw the process through, smoothed using a 7-day moving average. media — pass: No media is selected, and no verified media candidates were supplied, so nothing was misidentified. ## Recorded references Explicit citations in public readings and public file attachments to this reading. Shared topics are not citations. Other artifact types need an explicit reference adapter. No public references recorded here yet. [Reference data (JSON)](/readings/c8014e58a73477bcd230f3e4fe70ceb77d39745659268d716af71c940bda8e6d/references.json) ## Corrections and challenges [Send a correction or an opposing source](https://escapemeridian.com/corrections/) [JSON record](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/allison-shrivastava-cory-stahle-and-laura-ullrich-report-in-c8014e58.json)