Maryland has lost more jobs so far this year than any other state in the nation according to the U.S. Department of Labor. After last Friday’s release of June state unemployment figures, there is now six months of data with which to compare the states. Maryland, which lost just over 10,000 jobs since the beginning of this year, is among a dozen states to have experienced declines during this period.
“This is a very disturbing trend, which needs to be addressed,” said Change Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan. “I’m deeply concerned that state government’s onslaught of taxes and fees is causing us to lose businesses, jobs and taxpayers at an alarming rate.” Maryland has raised taxes and fees 24 times since 2007, removing an additional $2.4 billion from the economy annually.
Maryland is also performing poorly in another important time period. From the beginning of 2007 to present, Maryland has lost more jobs than any other state in the region except for Pennsylvania, where each state lost nearly 40,000 and 60,000 jobs respectively.
“Governor O’Malley says repeatedly that Maryland has fared better than other states during the recession,” said Hogan. “He should be talking about our state’s performance relative to others in this region, not compared to Michigan or Nevada. Once again he is cherry picking data in an attempt to fool people.”
A comparison frequently made on all sides of the political spectrum is between Maryland and Virginia. Maryland’s unemployment rate, at 6.9%, contrasts sharply with Virginia’s 5.7%. This is the widest gap between the two states since 2001, when Parris Glendening was governor.
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics measures total non-farm employment. June numbers are preliminary.
