In Virginia, there were job losses blamed on canceled federal contracts in Northern Virginia as part of cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. They include jobs the payroll survey can’t get, such as contract and agricultural jobs, and capture jobs where people live rather than states where employers are located. The household surveys show Virginia with the largest job losses in the country for the second quarter, down about 43,000, and job losses every month since February. Before that, the state gained jobs every month since the height of pandemic job losses in April 2020. Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in Stateline, which is, like the Virginia Mercury, part of States Newsroom.