- The most recent jobs report showed that between July and August, Maryland gained 2,400 Government jobs while losing 1,900 Total Private jobs, resulting in an overall gain of 500 Total Nonfarm positions.
- Since January, Maryland has lost a total of 15,000 Total Nonfarm jobs.
- The unemployment rate for Maryland remained constant at 3.8 percent in August.
According to the most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Maryland gained 500 Total Nonfarm positions between July and August, ending a three-month streak of reported total job losses in Maryland. This increase was a result of a 2,400 position gain in Government jobs, offset by a loss of 1,900 Total Private jobs. Maryland’s unemployment rate in August was 3.8 percent, which remains unchanged since March.
Since January, Maryland has lost a total of 15,000 Total Nonfarm jobs. All of the jobs lost this year have been in the private sector, which has experienced a total decrease of 17,500 positions. Government jobs in Maryland have remained relatively stable this year, with a total gain of 2,500 positions since January. The most significant overall job losses this year have been seen in the Professional and Business Services sector, which lost 8,000 jobs, the Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services sector, which lost 7,500 jobs, and the Trade, Transportations, and Utilities sector, which dropped by 6,800 positions. The largest private sector gain has been seen in the Financial Activities sector, which has added 2,500 positions this year.
Between July and August, the biggest gains in the supersector level were reported in the Government sector which added 2,400 jobs, and Financial Activities with an increase of 1,300 positions. The most significant decrease this month was seen in the Professional and Business Services sector, which lost 4,600 jobs. On the subsector level, Maryland’s largest gain was seen in State Government, which added 1,600 jobs, followed by a 1,100 position increase for the Finance and Insurance subsector. Maryland’s biggest losses were in Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, which lost 3,000 jobs, and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, which decreased by 1,500 positions.
While Maryland made a small overall gain in jobs, neighboring states in the Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.) combined to add a total of 20,000 nonfarm jobs between July and August, with a gain of 16,300 Total Private jobs and 3,700 Government positions. This combined total was driven by a gain of 16,500 jobs in Pennsylvania, although all of our neighbors experienced at least a small increase in jobs over the month. Neighboring states’ largest gains on the supersector level were in Education and Health Services, which added 7,400 jobs, and Professional and Business Services, which gained 5,300 jobs. The only overall losses in these states were reported in the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector (decreased 2,300 jobs) and the Information sector (lost 1,100 positions). The overall unemployment rate for neighboring states in July remained unchanged at 3.5 percent.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Employment Workbook
To make more sense of what’s happening with Maryland’s employment numbers, we’ve embedded our new tool: the Mid-Atlantic Regional Employment Workbook. This dashboard allows you to examine 29 different industries and see how employment is varying in Maryland as well as four other states in the Mid-Atlantic region. To use the dashboard select a sector of the economy that interests you from the dropdown at the top. When you change the sector of interest, the map and five line graphs will update to reflect historical data for that industry. Want to know how employment changed in the sector last month? Hover over each state in the map for percentage changes. Or hover over the line graphs to get more detailed information on the number of employees each month since January 2017 by state.
