WESLACO – The Texas Workforce Commission is considering all federal employees as laid off, meaning they can apply for unemployment benefits.

KRGV’s Sierra Pizarro spoke with the spouse of a federal employee.

“There's people with mortgages, there's people with kids, you name it. Everyone is going through something,” she says.

There are 800,000 federal workers across the country and 8,000 of them reside in the Rio Grande Valley.

Workforce Solutions’ communication specialist Mike Gonzalez says federal workers can apply for unemployment benefits until the shutdown is over.

Federal workers can apply for benefits online; the application process could take at least a week.

For more information watch the video above.