CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Federal workers waiting on their next paycheck may not wait much longer.

• Sweeping furloughs are causing many to look for new jobs.
• Regulations require people on unemployment to show they’re looking for work.
• Some furloughed employee have already quit to find new jobs.

Sweeping furloughs are causing many to look for new jobs.

4,700 federal workers filed for unemployment the last week of December, according to the Department of Labor. Regulations require people on unemployment to show they’re looking for work.

Recruitment firms like Search Solution Group in Charlotte are being contacted by furloughed employees.

“I think the longer this goes on, the more painful it’s going to be when [the government reopens],” director of strategy at Search Group Solution Josh Mangum said.

Rachel Brummert, a furloughed employee of the FDA, said several co-workers have already quit to find new jobs.

“I’m considering it because we do need a second income. We are struggling financially,” Brummert said. “So it’s on the table.”