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A national staffing agency has opened its first apparent location in Northern Virginia and the Washington area as the region confronts widespread federal job cuts and rising unemployment.

AtWork announced Jan. 6 that its new office is operating at 2106-F Gallows Road in Dunn Loring’s South Tysons Office Park, just outside Tysons. The franchise will connect employers with candidates seeking light-industrial, professional, office and clerical positions.

Owner Dan Garvey said the Tysons team will serve job seekers and businesses in Reston, Great Falls, Wolf Trap, McLean, Vienna and surrounding communities.

“Our team will help people in Tysons and nearby areas … find meaningful roles in light-industrial and professional fields while connecting businesses with the reliable talent they need to grow,” Garvey said.

The Knoxville, Tennessee-based company operates more than 100 locations nationwide and says it helps over 40,000 people find work annually. Its services include temporary and permanent placements and executive searches for businesses filling leadership positions.

AtWork was founded in 1986 by current CEO John Hall. The company initially expanded in East Tennessee before opening its first franchise in Decatur, Alabama, in 1992.

Garvey’s own career has included several major transitions. After earning a Coast Guard license from the State University of New York Maritime College, he served as an officer aboard military vessels and worked as a private contractor for the U.S. Navy. He later moved into medical device sales.

AtWork President and Chief Operating Officer Jason Leverant said Garvey’s leadership and community commitment made him well suited to oversee the Tysons-area franchise.

The office arrives during a difficult period for the Washington region’s labor market. Federal workforce reductions by the Trump administration hit the area especially hard, with more than 72,000 federal jobs lost in 2025, according to recently released U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Virginia’s unemployment rate reached 3.5% in November, compared with 2.9% one year earlier.

Private employers across the Washington area, including Fairfax County-based contractors, also reported 13,260 layoffs through December. That was the highest annual total since the pandemic shutdowns, although it remained far below the more than 37,800 cuts recorded in 2020.

Outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has promoted a transition toward what it calls a “robust and growing private sector.”