Maryland Overview

Due to Maryland’s proximity to Washington, DC, employment in Maryland is heavily influenced by the government. That influence allowed the Maryland job market and economy to escape the recession relatively unscathed. In 2011, however, Maryland reported weaker economic conditions as the government faced budget shortfalls and cutbacks. The real estate and professional/technical services sectors are also important to Maryland’s economy and 3.1 million workers.

Maryland Job Opportunities

The Maryland job market is driven by a strong number of defense and security businesses that support the Department of Homeland Security, as well as a supply of biotechnology and software companies.

Government is Maryland’s top employment sector. Other critical hiring sectors include trade, transportation and utilities and education/health services. The education/health services sector has most recently reported the strongest job growth, while manufacturing and finance employment has declined.

Maryland Employment Trends

The overall trend in Maryland’s employment conditions is positive. The unemployment rate, which never exceeded 8 percent during the recession, began 2012 at 6.5 percent. Payrolls across the state, which declined for two years during the recession, have shown positive growth since mid-2010 despite a mild dip in mid-2011. Online hiring has also improved, and is building toward prerecession levels.

Maryland jobs are expected to grow 0.8 percent between Q2 2012 and Q2 2013, less than the 1.3 percent growth expected in the nation’s job supply, according to a Moody’s Analytics forecast.