K Street Lobbyists Fall Victim To Lay-Offs

Laid-off Americans can rest assured -- even lobbyists for bailed-out financial firms have seen their jobs claimed by the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Politico reports that more than 600 lobbying jobs in the finance, insurance and real estate sector have been lost since 2007 despite the federal government's intervention in those industries.

Those layoffs haven't translated into less Washington lobbying -- $223 million was spent by those industries to influence lawmakers during the first six months of the year, a number poised to exceed last year's amount. Politico reports that the most prominent industry layoffs occurred amongst people who ran government affairs offices for banks that went under:

"There is a recognition that the future of the industry is being decided in Washington," said Scott Talbott, The Financial Services spokesman. "We're fighting on multiple fronts. It let up for about an hour in August. Otherwise, it's been a constant hyperdrive, blitzkrieg, no huddle."

The Wall Street Journal reported that companies in just about every major sector including agriculture, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have laid off lobbyists.

From the Wall Street Journal:

"For the first time, people are saying that Washington is not recession-proof, and this industry is not recession-proof," said Michael Herson, president of lobbying firm American Defense International. "Companies have cut back, and one of the first things they cut back on is lobbyists," he said.

Job-seeking lobbyists should look to the growing "green" industry, which has bucked the downward trend, hiring more lobbyists over the last two years to push for renewable-power and energy efficiency.

Cutbacks on K Street are rare -- the last steep decline in employment was in 2001 when the industry lost 5 percent of registered lobbyists in a recession.