Maryland adds 1,200 jobs; state unemployment rate flat

Maryland employers added 1,200 jobs in April, while unemployment remained unchanged at 3.8%, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday.

The state’s modest gain in jobs marked the third month this year with increases. The state has 19,300 more jobs than in April 2018, the preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed. But the year-over-year growth rate is just 0.7%, well below the national rate of 1.8%.

“Today’s jobs report for Maryland was somewhat positive, but job growth remained modest, overall,” with the professional and business services industry ranking as the top contributor, said Joseph Mengedoth, associate regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia.

The professional and business services sector added 3,600 jobs, mostly in the administrative, waste management and remediation services sub-sectors. Jobs also were added in education and health services, mining, logging and construction, and information.

Gains were offset by sizable losses in the trade, transportation and utilities sectors, with a decrease of 1,700 jobs, and in hospitality, financial activities and manufacturing.

By region, 2,700 jobs were added in April in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area, while 2,300 jobs were added in Baltimore City.

“Now is an ideal time to invest in your employees,” James E. Rzepkowski, the state acting labor secretary, said in an announcement. “Programs like apprenticeship and EARN Maryland can increase skills and strengthen the workforce through training, education, and certification.”

The labor department revised Maryland’s February preliminary jobs estimate downward by 800 jobs, from a gain of 3,100 to a gain of 2,300 jobs.