Governor Martin O’Malley today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of Labor’s release of jobs data for the month of June. Maryland’s employers shed 300 jobs, while the state’s unemployment rate remained well below the national average of 9.2 percent at 7.0 percent:
“The jobs report released today shows little change in the job level from May, but we continue to see signs that Maryland is better positioned than most states. There are now 21,000 more Marylanders who are employed than at the start of the year and our unemployment rate remains significantly below the national level. Just last month, the US Chamber of Commerce rated Maryland one of the top five ‘Enterprising States’ for job, income and economic growth.
“This report underscores that we must continue to work to create and save jobs in Maryland. This is why last month we launched FastTrack to help speed up the jobs recovery by making it easier for businesses to grow and create jobs in our state.
“What we cannot do is to allow partisan politics to undermine the jobs recovery. Congress must act now to achieve a balanced, bi-partisan solution to the debt crisis so that we’re not driven needlessly into default, killing the recovery. The data shows how precarious the jobs recovery is around the country. For instance, 29 states’ unemployment rates increased. To move forward, we must remain focused on job creation, not political gamesmanship.”
