At a time when many development and aid organizations are putting a freeze on hiring, it can feel, to those who have lost their jobs due to the USAID crisis, that they have limited options.
“I think a lot of us are just finding it overwhelming to know where to start,” said Laura Wigglesworth, a talent acquisition specialist who worked at CARE until it, too, was impacted by the United States’ withdrawal of aid and development funding.
USAIDStopWork estimates that over 176,000 people — nearly 20,000 based in the United States — have lost their jobs since President Donald Trump made the decision to significantly reduce the United States Agency for International Development and suspend most of its programs. The effects are being felt across the sector as other organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, and the Danish Refugee Council, struggle to maintain staffing levels without U.S. funding. Thousands are now scrambling for work in an oversaturated job market.