|
Continued deterioration in national market conditions have intensified the
economic discord in Maryland’s job market, causing unemployment to
rise to its highest level since 1993 and increasing the depth of
declines on Maryland’s business payrolls.
In December, Maryland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment
rate, while remaining considerably below that of 7.2 percent
reported nationally, rose to 5.8 percent, an increase of 0.5
percentage points over-the-month. December’s
upturn was somewhat anticipated as reports of shortened work
schedules, layoffs and business closures continue to mount in the
wake of the national economic downturn.
Over the past year, the number of Marylanders holding jobs has declined
by nearly 63,800 and the statewide unemployment rate has risen by
more than two full percentage points, further underscoring the
impact of the national recession on the employment status of
Maryland residents.
Following a revision of November’s payroll stats which diminished statewide
business payrolls by nearly 15,000 jobs, an additional 9,800 jobs
were shed by Maryland employers during December. This decline
lowered the job total to just over 15,000 below the year ago level. The
downturn has begun to ripple throughout the economy. During
December, cutbacks were reported in every major private sector
industry group, with the exception of education and health services
and financial activities which remained flat. While pre-recession
growth in education and health services has slowed, continued demand
in health services has managed to keep this industry afloat thus
far.
Recent reports showed the largest over-the-month job declines occurring in
retail trade, an industry which has begun to show stress as
declining discretionary income has forced consumers to curb their
spending. Reports of weak holiday sales, coupled with recent
announcements by KB Toys, Circuit City and Filene’s to shutter
their operations, have cast a cloud over this industry. The
construction industry, reporting the second largest number of
monthly job reductions, has been an industry in crisis since the
onset of the downturn and, signs are pointing to continued tough
times ahead. Elsewhere on business payrolls, job losses in
professional and business services were tied to declining demand in
temporary help service firms and, in leisure and hospitality,
businesses providing accommodations and food services were the
primary source of weakness.
Statewide recessionary pressures filtered throughout local economies,
exacerbating the impact of job losses resulting from normal seasonal
downswings. Employment declines were reported across the state,
causing unadjusted unemployment rates to rise in each local
jurisdiction. Unemployment rates in sixteen jurisdictions advanced
by 0.5 percentage points or more, with rates in Worcester, Garrett,
Cecil and Dorchester counties climbing by a full percentage point or
higher.
Return to the top of the page
|
