MD unemployment rate 6.7% in Sept/Oct

Maryland’s unemployment rate was 6.7 percent for the past two months, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  This is down from 7 percent unemployment in August.

In part this decrease is due to about 9,500 fewer unemployed Marylanders, and about 8,400 more who are now employed. Both these numbers are headed in the right direction, which is heartening.

However, there are also still 29,300 fewer Marylanders in the labor force compared to the peak last January. A smaller labor force helps the unemployment rate go down, but it hurts our economy. Some may leave the labor force due to retirement, to return to school, or through migration. However, BLS only counts those who have been working or actively looking for work recently as members of the labor force.  Many folks who would like to work fall off the count because they have been unemployed for so long that they are too discouraged to look for work.

BLS provides us with state employment figures every month. They are an important metric of how our economy is doing, but they don’t tell the whole story. The next time these figures are released, go to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics page on BLS’s website, click on the Maryland link on the right-hand sidebar, and look at the graphs they provide (pay attention to the scale of the y-axis, and make sure you’re looking at seasonally adjusted data). You’ll be able to see how the latest data corresponds to peaks and troughs, and trends over time. But remember that the graphs only tell part of the story, so keep reading this blog for more insightful analysis of Maryland’s economic policy landscape.