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Nationally, unemployment, while declining slightly to 9.4 percent in July,
remained more than two full percentage points above that of
Maryland.
Preliminary estimates showed employment on Maryland’s industrial payrolls
trending upward during July, with a seasonally adjusted gain of
10,000 jobs reported. Both public and private sector payrolls
expanded, with gains in the private sector spurred by the continuing
slow but steady growth in health care and accommodations and food
services.
While recent reports show that the pace of economic contraction appears to
be slowing and the downturn in some industries is showing signs of
bottoming out, the general consensus is that labor market conditions
will continue to be affected by a series of ups and downs before
economic equilibrium can be achieved and recovery begins. The
economic leveling and sporadic job growth which has occurred over
the past few months, while a possible prelude to recovery, can best
be viewed as one of the economic bumps which are likely to reoccur
as the economy strives for sustainable growth.
Seasonal expansion, particularly in leisure and hospitality industries,
loosened the job market somewhat for jobseekers during July.
Employment advanced in nearly every local jurisdiction during July,
helping to either maintain or lower non-seasonally adjusted
unemployment rates in fifteen of the state’s localities. In those
jurisdictions reporting higher jobless rates, an influx of new and
reentrant jobseekers into the labor market caused rates to creep up.
Unemployment rates during July ranged from a low of 5.5 percent in
Montgomery County to a high of 11.5 percent in Dorchester County.
Baltimore City’s rate, rising by 0.5 percentage points over the
month to 11.3 percent, trailed only slightly behind Dorchester.
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