Georgetown University students are struggling to secure employment and internships amid Washington, D.C.’s record-breaking unemployment numbers.

In the city’s report released April 8, D.C. recorded the highest unemployment rate among U.S. states at 6.7% in January, surpassing the 4.3% national average. The rate is due in part to various federal workforce reductions implemented by the Trump administration, leaving 2026 graduates and current students with fewer employment opportunities. 

Brandon Labman — co-founder of ROCS Grad Staffing, an agency that matches college students and graduates to jobs — said the problem stems from an influx of applications. 

“Everybody’s applying to so many different jobs,” Labman told The Hoya. “From the employer side, they’re getting so many applicants coming through — it’s hard to even follow up from their perspective. That’s why we hear a lot from students, ‘man, I never hear back.’ Well, they’re getting flooded.”

Anjali Ofori (CAS ’27), who has applied to nearly 50 summer positions in the D.C. area, said she is experiencing heightened pressure to find an internship as she enters her senior year.

“Summer after junior year, there’s a lot of pressure on it, of getting a return offer, having job security post-grad and just figuring out what you want to do, what they actually want to go into,” Ofori said. “I got an internship this semester so I could build out my resume. And I thought doing that would elevate my resume. Obviously, that didn’t work.”

Full Disclosure: Anjali Ofori was an Opinion assistant for The Hoya in Spring 2025.

Edan Kauer (CAS ’28), who applied to dozens of summer internships and has yet to receive an offer, said her experience has been consistent with the overall trends Labman identified.

“I’ve heard back from a little under half of them,” Kauer told The Hoya. “I’ve gotten rejected from all of them, except three, where I’ve gotten interview requests, and I’m still waiting to hear back from one of them on that.”

The D.C. region lost roughly 72,000 jobs in 2025 as a result of the Trump administration’s reduction of the federal workforce and overall spending.

Kauer said she views the Trump administration’s layoffs as a cause of the D.C. job market’s competitiveness.

“I think it’s just more competitive this summer because a lot of people who are in government jobs, whose jobs got cut, or just different organizations who have lost funding because of the current administration, are now on the hunt,” Kauer said. “It just makes it even more competitive.”

The federal workforce decreased by 10.3% — nearly 238,000 jobs — in 2025 amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to downsize the government.

Kieran Hickis (CAS ’29), a current U.S. House of Representatives intern, said breaking into the D.C. job market depends less on qualifications than personal connections.

“It’s definitely, unfortunately, a market of who you know, and I’ve seen that because there are a lot of qualified applicants that I’ve spoken to, some that have applied to multiple different congressional offices, and still can’t break in because they don’t know someone on the inside,” Hickis told The Hoya. 

Will Thomas (CAS ’27) — who has a summer internship with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that enforces employment discrimination laws — said while his initial applications were unsuccessful, he was able to secure a position through his personal network.

“Initially, the process went pretty poorly — super competitive applications,” Thomas told The Hoya. “I think one place emailed and said they got 400 applications for 20 spots or something. So pretty tough in that respect. But then I think it took me doing some networking with people I hadn’t met before, doing some cold emailing and reaching out.”

Hickis said those looking for Capitol Hill internships, colloquially “Hillterns,” should build connections through district initiatives before applying to positions in D.C.

“Work on a campaign, especially if it’s a congressperson that you want to work for on the hill, work on their campaign at home, and then build connections in that campaign,” Hickis said. “And then to keep climbing up from there, work in their district office, or something like that. Unfortunately, due to the crowded job market, it’s pretty unrealistic to expect to get a hillternship with zero political experience.”

Thomas said applicants should continue to apply, adding that even a single response is uplifting.

“I think, as depressing as it can be to reach out to a ton of places and hear no responses, it’s all going to be worth it, as soon as you get that first response back, that first person who wants to talk to you,” Thomas said. 

Ofori said she has been told by government offices that they are reluctant to onboard employees due to uncertain federal funding.

“I got an interview for the House Judiciary Committee, which would have been a dream, but they said in my first interview — it was two rounds — they said in the first one, ‘We don’t know what the funding looks like right now,’” Ofori said. “And then when they rejected me, they were like, ‘I’m sorry, we could only take two people,’ which is kind of crazy, if you think about it.”

Ofori said she is changing how she approaches the application process, moving from submitting applications to emailing potential employers.

“I think I might have to stop looking at job postings and just start cold emailing people and relying on my network and connections more,” Ofori said. “I feel like what I’ve been doing is creating a network and using those connections to amplify or elevate what I’ve already submitted, have people flag my resume.”

Labman said that with the high number of applicants, students must stay persistent and refrain from discouragement to find employment.

“There are definitely more people applying,” Labman said. “It’s a combination of things — more applicants, and because it’s more competitive, people are applying to a lot more.” 

“How do you stand out from the noise of that — I would say to be persistent,” Labman added. “Stay on top of it. It will break through. You do have to apply to a lot of places. It’s just kind of how it is. Now, don’t get discouraged too much, right? If you don’t hear back, that’s just normal.”