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BALTIMORE, MD (August 15, 2008) – Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
Secretary Thomas E. Perez today announced that with hiring demand down in an already
tight labor market and increasing numbers of Marylanders entering the job market,
Maryland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed to 4.4 percent in July from
4 percent in June.
“The deterioration in national economic conditions clearly continues to take its
toll on Maryland’s job market,” Secretary Perez said. Maryland’s private sector job
creation, which has been uneven throughout the year, trended downward in July. The
current unemployment rate is up from 3.6 percent recorded a year ago, but Maryland’s
unemployment rate remains considerably below that of the nation, which rose to 5.7
percent in July.
Hiring at the federal level and in local government summer programs helped to
elevate total employment in July, but the increase was mitigated by a decline of
500 jobs on private sector payrolls. While July is not typically a month of large
job increases, the current decline, coupled with a private sector job loss of
1,100 jobs reported in June, is an added weight on Maryland’s job market in light
of the continuing weakness in the construction, manufacturing and finance sectors.
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