The economic crisis pushed Maryland's jobless rate to a 12-year high in October, the Labor Department said yesterday, but economists said even modest growth in the labor force kept unemployment from spiking further.
Maryland's unemployment rate hit 5 percent for the first time since April 1996, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It increased from 4.6 percent in September, on a seasonally adjusted basis, continuing a climb tied to turmoil in housing, credit and the financial markets.
Employment in Maryland has fared better than in many other states and the nation as a whole, even during the housing downturn of the past few years, thanks to a significant government presence, experts said. The rate remained below 4 percent from December 2005 through May, when it began rising steadily.
Maryland's rate "has risen rather rapidly since the first quarter, and in that respect, it's significant," said Glenn Wingard, an economist with Moody's Economy.com. "There's just not enough jobs being created for the labor force entrants. More people are entering the labor force than jobs are being created to accommodate them."
Joblessness in the U.S. jumped to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October, the government said earlier this month, and many economists expect it to get much worse next year. Maryland was among 38 states and the District of Columbia to record month-to-month increases in joblessness, according to yesterday's data.
Bruce L. Robinson, 57, of Overlea, said he has been out of work for more than a year after losing his job as a manager at the state Motor Vehicle Administration. Robinson, who has headed a nonprofit drug counseling group and has experience as a city police officer, said he has applied for about 100 jobs.
"Every week is find-a-job week at my house," said Robinson, whose wife works two part-time jobs and is looking for full-time employment in nursing. "Fortunately, the kids are grown. I'm not looking in the pay range I was in. Now I'm looking for something that will get me to work. The savings are gone, and we're having to sell off retirement to meet the monthly bills."
With economic news worsening, President George W. Bush signed an extension of jobless benefits into law yesterday. That will ensure the flow of unemployment checks to millions of laid-off workers.
On a month-to-month basis, payroll employment fell in 40 states, dipping slightly in Maryland, by 1,600 jobs to 2.63 million jobs, the Labor Department report showed. But Maryland gained nearly 23,000 jobs in October from a year earlier.
