More jobs and lower unemployment characterized Maryland’s labor market
during April.
- Maryland’s seasonally adjusted industry payrolls advanced for the second consecutive month, rising by 8,200
jobs in April – the highest gain for the month since 2005.
- During April, the leisure/hospitality and education/health services industries were the top job performers
within the private sector, posting gains of 7,100 and 3,200 jobs, respectively.
- Since February, an estimated 36,800 jobs have been added to Maryland’s business payrolls – surpassing
previous gains for the February-April period dating back to 1990.£ Several business sectors appear to be working
their way out of the recession. Within the private sector, construction, manufacturing, education/health and
leisure/hospitality have consistently trended upward since February.
February – April
construction (+7,200); manufacturing (+700); education/health (+7,400); leisure/hospitality (+12,100)
- Maryland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (while still high by historical standards) declined from
7.7% to 7.5% --its first decline since the recession began. Nationally, unemployment inched up slightly, rising
from 9.7% to 9.9 percent.
- Nearly 12,800 Marylanders found employment in April– an increase which helped to absorb an influx of
jobseekers into the labor market and, at the same time, to lower the number of unemployed residents by an
estimated 6,600 persons.
- Unemployment claims filing activity also continued to lessen, with initial filings falling by 11.6%
over-the-month to 28,738 – nearly 41% below December 2009’s peak level of 48,693.
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