Where are the jobs? Washington County faring better than the state after pandemic

Mike Lewis, The Herald-Mail
·3 min read

Washington County is faring better than the state and some of its neighbors in recovering jobs lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But that news is tempered by the fact that local job growth has been virtually flat since February, said Adam Scavette, a regional economist at the Baltimore branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

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Maryland added 12,000 jobs in July, according to preliminary data released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Compared with July 2021, Maryland jobs are up by 78,600, an over-the-year gain of 3%.

But the state's job total is still down 1.9% since February 2020, before the economic slowdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Scavette said in a telephone interview Friday.

The United States recently passed the break-even point, with jobs exceeding pre-pandemic levels, Scavette said.

"Hagerstown is down only 1% from its pre-pandemic levels. ... That's really only a difference of about 1,000 jobs," Scavette said, referring to the Hagerstown-Martinsburg metropolitan statistical area.

That's been true for the past few months, he said.

"There just hasn't been a whole lot of change in Hagerstown since February of this year," he said.

Unemployment
Unemployment

Most of the state's job growth has been in Baltimore and the counties surrounding that city, he said.

Baltimore City has reached its pre-pandemic totals, he said. The total for the larger Baltimore metro area, which includes counties around the city, is down 1.4%

The job total is down about 5% for the District of Columbia suburb region, including Calvert, Charles and Prince George's counties.

The figure is down about 2.5% in Montgomery and Frederick counties, and it's down by 2% in the Cumberland region, Scavette said.

By the numbers

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' report, Maryland's Professional and Business Services sector experienced the most growth with an increase of 4,700 jobs, all within the Administrative and Support Services Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services subsectors.

Other sectors adding jobs included Manufacturing (1,000); Education and Health Services (900); Information (400); and Mining, Logging, and Construction (300).

Total jobs in the Financial Activities sector remained the same.

Sectors that experienced a decline include Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (600); Leisure and Hospitality (300); and Other Services (100).

Since the beginning of 2022, Maryland has gained 44,400 jobs, the report states.

Unemployment rates

The monthly report also showed Maryland's statewide unemployment rate, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The rate fell to 3.9% in July. That is the lowest jobless rate since the beginning of the pandemic.

The U.S. rate was 3.5%.

The July unemployment rates for the state and its 24 jurisdictions are scheduled to be released later this month by the Maryland Department of Labor.

Those rates are not adjusted for seasonal factors.

Mike Lewis covers business, the economy and other issues. Follow Mike on Twitter: @MiLewis.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County recovering jobs faster than Maryland after pandemic