- The most recent jobs report showed that between August and September, Maryland gained a total of 10,100 Total Nonfarm jobs, including 7,700 Total Private jobs and 2,400 Government positions.
- Job gains between July and August were revised to a gain of 9,000 jobs, up significantly from the original estimate of 500 jobs.
- The unemployment rate for Maryland decreased to 3.7 percent in September.
According to the most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Maryland gained 10,100 Total Nonfarm positions between August and September. This increase was a result of a 2,400 position gain in Government jobs, along with a gain of 7,700 Total Private jobs. In addition, the previous month’s report of a 500 position increase between July and August has been significantly revised upwards to a gain of 9,000 Total Nonfarm jobs. As a result, Maryland’s unemployment rate in September decreased to 3.7 percent.
Previous updates on the economy have noted that Maryland lost a significant number of jobs since the beginning of 2019. However, the combination of new and revised job gains over the past two months have completely reversed all of the job losses seen this year. As of today, Maryland is reported to have gained 3,600 jobs since January 2019. These overall gains are attributable to Government, which has increased by 5,400 jobs, countering a smaller decrease of 1,800 Total Private jobs so far this year. The largest gains this year have been seen in the Education and Health Services sector (7,300 jobs added), and the State Government sector (6,900 jobs gained). The biggest decrease has been seen in the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector, which has lost 6,200 positions this year.
Between August and September, the biggest gains in the supersector level were reported in the Education and Health Services sector which added 4,400 jobs, and the Government sector with an increase of 2,400 positions. The only decrease this month was seen in the Financial Activities sector (2,700 jobs lost). On the subsector level, Maryland’s largest gain was once again seen in State Government, with 2,500 added jobs, followed by a 1,600 position increase for the Accommodation and Food Services subsector. Maryland’s biggest loss was in the Finance and Insurance subsector, which lost 2,600 jobs.
While Maryland rebounded from earlier losses, neighboring states in the Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.) gave back some of their previous gains, combining to lose a total of 19,600 Nonfarm jobs between August and September, with a loss of 18,700 Total Private jobs and 900 Government positions. This combined total was driven by a loss of 14,700 jobs in Virginia, although both Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. experienced a small decrease in jobs as well. The only significant total gains on the supersector level for neighboring states were in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, which added 2,400 jobs. The largest overall losses were reported in the Leisure and Hospitality sector (6,200 jobs lost), the Mining, Logging, and Construction sector (4,600 jobs lost), and the Professional and Business Services sector (decrease of 4,300 jobs). The overall unemployment rate for neighboring states in September 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 to 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.
