Employment, Unemployment and Unemployment Rate by Place of Residence (LAUS)

The statistics in this section are gathered from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program which produces estimates of the labor force, employment, and unemployment for the state and its subdivisions. This employment measure is based on where workers live. Final adjusted numbers are available following the benchmark process (see individual tables).

Technical Note:  Starting with January 2005, a new method of calculating employment/unemployment was used in the development of statewide, Metropolitan Area and county level data under the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. Among the benefits the new state models have over the existing state models are:

• State estimates will be controlled monthly or in “real time” to the Current Population Survey (CPS), a household survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). As a result, the sum of state model estimates will equal national CPS totals.
• The real time benchmarking approach will ensure that shocks to the economy  (e.g. turns in the business cycle, terrorist attacks) will be captured sooner.
• Real-time benchmarking will improve over the year analysis of estimates and make end of the year revisions smaller
• Monthly error measures will be available

Concurrent with the introduction of the new estimation model, the LAUS program has implemented 2000 Census based geographic areas, changing both the names and geographic configurations of Maryland’s Labor Market Areas (LMAs).

Additionally, the model input ratios used in sub-state estimation of labor force entrant unemployment, agricultural employment, self-employment, employment among unpaid family and private household workers and non-farm resident employment have been updated using both CPS and 2000 census relationships.

For more information go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' web site.

Download 2006 - 2011 data in Excel format  (download Excel viewer for free)

Release Dates

Inquiries regarding methodology, additional information, or general assistance may be directed to:

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Updated January 27, 2012