Both the number of employed residents and the count of Maryland-based jobs
advanced in February. Rising employment helped to lower Maryland’s
seasonally adjusted unemployment rate from 3.5 percent in January to 3.4
percent in February – its lowest rate for the month since February 2000
according to Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
Maryland’s job market managed to move ahead
modestly while national indicators showed mixed results in February.
Nationally, a decline in unemployment from 4.9 percent to 4.8 percent was
tempered by a reduction in the number of employed, the subsequent
withdrawal of jobseekers from the labor market and two consecutive months
of declining industry payrolls.
In Maryland, job creation during February helped to boost industry payrolls by 4,300
jobs. Construction, administrative support services, health services and
state and federal government were among the industries showing the largest
monthly gains. According to preliminary estimates, Maryland’s job base has grown by 30,700 jobs since last
February. Advances in firms providing administrative support and health services and in
establishments providing accommodations and food services, when combined,
accounted for about 6 out of every 10 jobs added over-the-year.
Locally, employment advanced in almost all jurisdictions helping to either lower or
stabilize non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in twenty-two of the
state’s twenty-four jurisdictions. Twelve jurisdictions, primarily
located in the Baltimore and DC Metro Areas, recorded unemployment rates
at or below the statewide average. Howard and Montgomery counties, with
rates of 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, were ranked as statewide lows.
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