David Edgerley, secretary of the state's Department of Business and Economic Development, focused on that growth in highlighting what he called the continuing strength in the state's economy.
He added, though, "We're cautious. Some sectors are being affected more than others," including retail and auto sales.
Economists like Wingard predict Maryland's unemployment rate will continue to rise, peaking at 6.1 percent by the first quarter of 2010.
In recent weeks, layoffs have been announced or are being planned throughout the region in various fields.
Boscov's closed three department stores in the Baltimore area in a bankruptcy reorganization, eliminating 394 jobs. Ciena Corp., a communications networking company, laid off 56 employees last month, including as many as 19 at its Linthicum headquarters. Brunswick Corp., a Cumberland boat builder, said it would close its last Maryland plant by the year's end, putting 115 employees out of work.
Baltimore money manager Legg Mason Inc. said last month that it would cut a third of the 147 employees at its Legg Mason Capital Management unit. And yesterday, United States Gypsum Co., a subsidiary of USG Corp., said it will shut down one of two wallboard manufacturing lines at a Baltimore factory, laying off 43 of its more than 200 workers by the end of the year, according to a spokesman.
In Maryland, as elsewhere, "everything is pointing to the weaker economy," said Mohammad Iqbal, an economist with IHS Global Insight. "The consumer is already suffering. Consumer confidence is low. Purchasing power has decreased. Credit conditions are bad, so it's a liquidity problem."
About 149,000 Maryland residents are looking for work but unable to find it, a 43 percent jump since the beginning of the year, the federal government reported.
John S. McCahan, director of operations for Recruit Military, a military-to-civilian recruiting firm based in Loveland, Ohio, has seen a jump in the number of job-seekers attending career fairs the firm holds across the country.
A job fair at Baltimore's M&T Stadium on Thursday drew 300 job-seekers, up from 225 who attended a similar fair at the stadium in August, McCahan said.
"The latest spike we are noticing is economically based," he said. "As the unemployment number increases, our numbers [of attendees] have increased."
