Finding Maryland Jobs

Approximately 1,900 Maryland jobs were cut in April, according to federal estimates. This caused the unemployment rate to rise from 3.6 percent in March to 3.7 percent, which is still significantly below the national average but the highest Maryland's jobless rate has been since 2006. Figures from the federal government show that almost 110,000 residents were unable to find work in April, which is 1,800 more than the previous month.

Although employers nationwide have been cutting jobs in an attempt to keep their profits up through times of economic difficultly since January, this is the first notable decline in Maryland jobs. Economist say that data on month-to-month job numbers do not always paint an accurate picture of an area's employment situation.

Nevertheless, Maryland jobs were not the only ones lost during April; 38 other states also saw employers do away with a substantial number of positions. Despite this, the Labor Department says that 31,500 Maryland jobs were created in the last 12 months.

President and Chief economist of MBG Information Services in Washington says "job growth in Maryland continues to be remarkably strong." In the last 12 months the education and health services industry created 11,000 Maryland jobs, professional and business services added 7,000 positions, and the government sector was responsible for 8,400 jobs. The three industries that have been struggling throughout the country, manufacturing, financial activities, and construction all lost Maryland jobs over the last 12 months.

Currently there are plans in the work to move as many 60,000 government jobs to Maryland, which could easily help the area's economy. The positions are part of a Pentagon realignment arrangement, which has to be finalized by September 2011, but residents won’t have to wait that long for the plans to start creating new Maryland jobs.

Governor Martin O'Malley recently signed legislation that will authorize the creation of "BRAC zones." These areas are now eligible to receive matching funds from the state for road upgrades and associated infrastructure work. New employees will likely be needed to handle to influx of labor this legislation will create.

In Montgomery County, where 2.500 jobs will be relocated to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, officials have decided that approximately $70 million in funds will be necessary to improve access to the hospital. Anne Arundel County, which will be getting 5,700 BRAC related jobs, is expected to have $5 billion worth of work done around Fort Meade. It is unknown at this time how many Maryland jobs will be created to handle the work these and other counties will be doing to prepare for arrival of the BRAC positions.

Other Maryland jobs will also likely be created as a by-product of the relocations. When an area gets a significant number of new residents or jobs, the economy is often spurred by the money that is being spent through consumer spending. Because of this, many employers could easily see a need add new staff members to their payrolls in hopes of keeping up with new business.