Although the pace of unemployment has slowed, Maryland lost 6,746 jobs in the month of July. These job losses placed Maryland fifth in the country for job losses in the month of July according to a newly released report from job outsourcing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The report goes on to state that the surge in job cuts was caused by a flurry of layoffs at several major employers, including Borders and Lockheed-Martin. Lockheed-Martin is the second largest employer in Maryland.
Released August 3rd, the report shows that the largest number of national job cuts in July were in the pharmaceuticals industry, followed closely by retail and government sector jobs. This marked the first time this year that government was not the largest sector for job cuts.
There were some bright spots in the jobs report. The estimated 66,000 job cuts recorded nationwide last month are still much lower than the approximately 105,000 job cuts per month averaged between January 2008 and December 2009.
Maryland's unemployment rate has continued to trend lower than the national average. Recently released numbers from the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation show that Maryland's unemployment rate is 25% lower than the national average. Maryland's unemployment rate stands at 7 %, 2.2% lower than the 9.2% national average.
Writer: Amy McNeal
Sources: Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation; Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.