Maryland's jobless rate spiked over 6 percent in January, climbing to a 16-year high in the midst of the deepening recession, preliminary government figures released yesterday show.
Economists said they were surprised at how rapidly employment weakness has accelerated in Maryland, though the state still fared better than the nation. The country's unemployment rate hit 7.6 percent in January and 8.1 percent last month, the highest rate in more than 25 years.
The state's jobless rate, adjusted for seasonal changes, rose to 6.2 percent in January from 5.4 percent in December, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. More than 185,000 Maryland residents were actively looking for work in January.
Maryland has been cushioned somewhat from the high percentages of people out of work that many states are seeing.
Michigan's unemployment reached 11.6 percent in January, the highest in the country, followed by South Carolina, at 10.4 percent, and Rhode Island, at 10.3 percent. Unemployment has been lower in Maryland thanks to federal and government contractor employment and spending.
"The good news is we're doing better than the nation," said Richard Clinch, director of economic research for University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute. "The bad news is we're going to catch up. Businesses have lost confidence that this is going to be a shallow recession and are starting to cut spending and hiring. Until the national economy shows signs of recovery, we'll see more of the same."
Every state but Louisiana had increased joblessness in January, and all 50 states had higher unemployment than in January 2008, the data show.
Maryland's unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in January 2008. During the 12 months through January, Maryland has lost 39,000 jobs, the statistics show. On a nonseasonally adjusted basis, unemployment jumped to 6.7 percent in January, from 3.9 percent in January 2008.
"Financial troubles have made households feel constrained about buying homes or cars or restaurant meals or most anything," said Charles W. McMillion, chief economist for Washington-based MBG Information Services. "And therefore businesses are not investing, and they're not hiring."
Job losses have come in nearly every sector in Maryland. In January, Home Depot Expo said it will close stores in Columbia and Bethesda in April and lay off 189 workers. Direct-marketing company Vertis Communications announced this month that it will close its printing plant in Belcamp, in Harford County, and lay off 114 people.
