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Maryland's 0.8 percent private sector rate of job growth
four times the national average
BALTIMORE, MD (May 20, 2011) - Private sector employers created 16,400 jobs in
Maryland during April, a 0.8 percent rate of private sector job growth, according
to data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state lost 4,800 government jobs, including 3,000 state jobs, bringing the total
job growth in April to 11,600. Maryland's 0.5 percent rate of growth was two and a
half times better than the national 0.2 percent average.
While the national unemployment rate increased from 8.8 to 9.0 percent in April,
Maryland's unemployment rate improved 0.1 percentage points to 6.8 percent - the 15th
straight month the unemployment rate has improved or held steady. Maryland's unemployment
rate is 2.2 percentage points better than the national average. Since December 2010, the
state's unemployment rate has improved 0.6 percentage points.
"Maryland continues to provide a national example and is better positioned to recover
from the national economic downturn more quickly than most other states. Largely because
of the strength of our highly skilled and well-educated workforce, Maryland's private
sector employers added 16,400 jobs in April, quadrupling the national private sector rate
of growth," Governor Martin O'Malley said. "We must build on our progress and protect the
investments we've made in our most valuable commodity - the men and women who make Maryland's
workforce the most dynamic, most diverse and best trained in America."
"Governor O'Malley has made the tough choices to position Maryland to compete in the New
Economy," Maryland Labor Secretary Alexander M. Sanchez said. "The investments the
O'Malley-Brown administration has made to develop a strong workforce pipeline have
helped drive Maryland's unemployment rate to the lowest levels in 25 months and 25
percent better than the national average."
All of Maryland's private sector supersectors added jobs in April at a faster rate
than the national average except the information sector, which held steady. Notable gains include:
- 5,500 professional and business service jobs (1.4 percent rate of growth
compared to 0.3 percent national rate);
- 3,500 leisure and hospitality jobs (1.5 percent rate of growth compared to
0.3 percent national rate);
- 1,700 trade, transportation, warehouse and utility jobs (0.4 percent rate of
growth compared to 0.3 percent national rate);
- 1,700 manufacturing jobs (1.5 percent rate of growth compared to 0.2 percent
national rate; and
- 1,000 jobs in natural resources, mining and construction (0.7 percent rate of
growth compared to 0.5 percent national rate).
Since January, Maryland has added 13,000 jobs (0.5 percent rate of growth). In that
same timeframe, more than 24,000 additional Marylanders have started working (0.9 percent
rate of growth) and more than 11,600 fewer Marylanders are unemployed (a 5.4 percent
decline) - the strongest start to the year for Maryland's labor market since 1986.
In April, the Prince George's County Go Solar! Solar Generation and Electric
Construction Training Program graduated its first class of students. Eighty-five
percent of the students who enrolled in the course graduated. Of those who completed
the program, 85 percent had jobs and apprenticeships waiting for them. The Go Solar!
training program is specifically designed to jumpstart participating jobseekers'
careers by equipping them with skills hiring contractors demand, including electrical
theory, photovoltaic installation techniques and basic tool recognition. The Prince
George's County MESP Solar Generation and Electric Construction Training - Go Solar! -
program is a partnership between the Governor's Workforce Investment Board (GWIB), the
Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation Workforce Services Division
(PGCEDC-WSD) and the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) Local Union
26 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). This training
program is the first Go Solar! project in the state to exclusively target new workers.
The program supports Governor O'Malley's ambitious goal to create 100,000 green jobs
in Maryland by 2012.
The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
protects and empowers Marylanders by safeguarding
workers, protecting consumers, providing a safety net
and cultivating a thriving workforce that can meet the
demands of Maryland’s dynamic economy. Follow DLLR on Twitter
(@MD_DLLR) and Facebook.
Employment Situation
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