• The most recent jobs report showed that between April 2025 and May 2025, Maryland gained 2,900 Total Nonfarm jobs.
  • The official unemployment rate for Maryland increased to 3.2 percent.

According to the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Maryland gained a total of 2,900 Total Nonfarm jobs between April 2025 and May 2025. This was a result of a gain of 4,700 Total Private jobs being offset by a decrease of 1,800 Total Government jobs. Maryland’s unemployment rate increased to 3.2 percent from 3.1 percent the month prior.

We have previously noted that most of the effects of mass layoffs in the federal workforce have not been reflected in early Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. This remains true, despite several months of decline in Total Government jobs in Maryland. Any persons who accepted a deferred, paid resignation from the federal government will not be considered unemployed until their pay ends in September 2025. In the meantime, some of the other actions taken by the Trump administration to reduce the federal workforce have been paused or reversed in court, while other positions have been rehired.

In Washington, Congress is negotiating over the latest version of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”, with a publicly stated goal of passing the bill before July 4. One significant point of contention is an increase in the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which allow taxpayers to deduct their state and local tax bills from their federal tax returns. This deduction had previously been uncapped prior to Trump’s original 2017 tax law, which established a $10,000 annual limit on the deduction. This new cap had an outsized impact on persons living in states with higher state taxes (such as Maryland), causing members of Congress from those states (including Republicans) to promise to fight for an increase to the cap in the new legislation. Legislation passed by the House included a SALT cap increase to $40,000, but the amount is still under negotiation in the Senate.

Republicans in Congress are also attempting to use the bill to codify some of President Trump’s reductions in the federal workforce and remove benefits and protections from federal workers. This is a response to court decisions that have found that in many cases, the President does not have the authority to eliminate agencies and workers that have been mandated and funded by Congress. Republicans have also attempted to include reductions in retirement benefits, unions, and other civil service protections. However, many of the provisions targeting federal workers have been found in be in violation of the Senate’s “Byrd Rule”, meaning that they cannot be passed without being subject to a 60-vote filibuster.

Other targets of the bill include cuts in Medicaid funding (through reductions of the provider tax), reductions in SNAP benefits, and a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire after 2025. With many aspects of the bill still in flux, RESI will revisit the likely effects of the new policies once they are finalized and passed into law, along with their potential impact on Maryland’s economy. With the situation evolving quickly, stay tuned for more updates on how employment is changing across Maryland, the region, and the country.