• The most recent jobs report showed that between June and July, Maryland gained a total of 53,900 Total Nonfarm jobs.
  • The official unemployment rate for Maryland dropped to 7.6 percent.

According to the most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Maryland gained a total of 53,900 Total Nonfarm positions between June and July of 2020. This total resulted from a recovery of 40,300 Total Private jobs combined with a gain of 13,600 Total Government positions. According to the official BLS estimate, Maryland’s unemployment rate has dropped to 7.6 percent in July. This is lower than the 8.3 percent unemployment rate in June but still substantially higher than the 3.6 percent unemployment rate in July of 2019.

Among all subsectors, the largest gain was seen in Local Government, which restored 22,600 jobs. This was followed by Accommodation and Food Services, which added 19,800. Accommodation and Food Services have benefited from the continued reopening of Maryland businesses, even as they continue to limit capacity. Meanwhile, hiring in the Local Government subsector has significantly increased, but total jobs are still lower than last year.

While most subsectors added jobs in July, there are still some areas of the economy that are shrinking. The most significant losses were seen in State Government, which shed 9,900 jobs, and Health Care and Social Assistance, which dropped by 2,200 positions. These losses in State Government may reflect budgetary pressures from the coronavirus pandemic as the state begins Fiscal Year 2021. On the other hand, as Maryland continues to see improvements in the number of coronavirus hospitalizations but people are still reluctant to go in for normal procedures, this reduced revenue to hospitals may be one driver of the losses seen in the Health Care and Social Assistance subsector.

Maryland’s unemployment rate of 7.6 percent remains the lowest among all of its neighbors in the Mid-Atlantic region in July. Virginia and the District of Columbia also reported similar declines in unemployment at 8.0 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively. Delaware remains at a high 10.4 percent unemployment rate despite a downward trend since June, while Pennsylvania continues to struggle with an increasing unemployment rate of 13.7 percent. All of Maryland’s neighbors saw significant recovery in the Leisure and Hospitality sectors, as each state implemented its own plan for reopening the economy.

As Maryland and the nation continue to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic, the economic effects are being felt in these jobs numbers. With the situation evolving quickly, stay tuned for more updates on how employment in Maryland, across the region, and the country are responding.