The labor market status of Maryland residents has been little changed
over the past few months. During August, the number of working
Marylanders moderated somewhat, however, downsizing in the labor
force helped to neutralize the monthly employment reduction and to
maintain Maryland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 7.2
percent for the fourth consecutive month.
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The equilibrium in Maryland’s jobless rate countered that of the
nation which showed unemployment rising by 0.3 percentage points
over-the-month to a level of 9.7 percent in August.
While jobseekers have continued to encounter a tight labor market and the
number of unemployed, currently at 213,574, is considerably above
last year’s level of 135,825, the job market status of Maryland
residents has stabilized somewhat over the past few months. Recent changes in Maryland’s labor force indicators
have been relatively muted compared to those experienced throughout 2008
and into the early months of 2009 -- a possible indication that
economic conditions are beginning to turn around.
Following a revised seasonally adjusted gain of 6,800 jobs in July, Maryland’s
business payrolls dropped back by an estimated 12,000 jobs in
August. Business payroll activity has yet to attain consistency;
activity over the past few months has been characterized by a series
of ups and downs. While overall activity was down, hiring occurred
in select industries. Retail trade, transportation, administrative
and support services and education and health services were among
the industries offering additional opportunities for jobseekers
looking to make Maryland their home base for employment.
At the local level, labor force movements reflected the combined effect of economic and seasonal layoff
activity. August is traditionally the time when summer activities
start to wind down and employers begin to cut temporary summer
workers from their payrolls. During August, employment declined in
each of the state’s local jurisdictions. In all but two local
jurisdictions – Cecil and Washington counties, the withdrawal of
workers from the job market helped to mitigate these declines and
either maintain or lower non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates.
During August, local unemployment rates ranged from a low of 5.2
percent in Montgomery County to a double-digit rate of 11.1 percent
shared by both Baltimore City and Dorchester County.
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