Job Loss

THIS LABOR DAY, with the fragile U.S. economy finally showing some life, Americans confront the deep trouble of not just a jobless recovery, but a job-loss rebound - the result of still weak demand, incessant corporate cost-cuts and the quickening march of jobs abroad. About this time - 29 months after the onset of the last recession and 21 months after its official end - employment ought to be expanding. But this recovery remains uniquely scarred by outright job losses. It's so bad that the unemployment rate's recent dip to 6.2 percent was big news.

Maryland shed 6,000 jobs in April, the federal government said Friday — the largest monthly loss in the country during a month when most states gained, but one that might have been overstated. The figures, which are preliminary and adjusted for seasonal variations, paint a much less rosy picture of Maryland employment than in recent months. As it released the April numbers, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday that it also revised downward its estimate for March, showing Maryland losing 600 jobs rather than adding 1,500.

You pay thousands in deposits for a trip, then get laid off. Now what? If your travel insurer, cruise or airline company offers a "job-loss guarantee," you might get your money back. Or not, depending on the policy. Job-loss coverage is nothing new in travel, but more companies have jumped in the past two months. JetBlue Airways, Norwegian Cruise Line and at least two cruise sellers have announced layoff policies, and insurers are tweaking the rules. Typically, such policies return trip deposits if you get laid off. In March, Travelex Insurance Services of Omaha, Neb., a big industry player whose travel policies have covered job loss since 1996, decreased from three years to one year the length of time you must be with an employer to qualify for the benefit, said Vice President Sally Dunlap.

Given that in 2011 Maryland ranked last in job creation and 44 t h in having a business-friendly environment, some response is required. We could start by getting rid of the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, and any other public or quasi-public group that has business development in its charter. Think of all the millions of dollars we could save and put to better use, like lowering the personal and corporate tax rates here.

There was a time when Conchy Bretos thought she would spend her entire career in government. Then Bretos lost a 1993 election for a seat on the Dade County Commission in Florida after a nasty campaign. And when she tried to return to her job as executive director of the county's Commission on the Status of Women, Bretos was fired. While her supporters complained bitterly that it was political retribution, she was not reinstated. She lost her political clout and many of her personal contacts, but Bretos was able to use one of her important contacts to become Florida's assistant secretary for aging and adult services.

Maryland tied for the fastest pace of job loss in the past year in June, the federal government estimated Friday, the second month in a row that the state was at or near the bottom of the heap. The state's unemployment rate — which had been trending downward for months — hit 7 percent in June, up from 6.8 percent in May, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. It was the first time the jobless rate had risen since January 2010. Maryland lost nearly 15,000 jobs over the past 12 months, spread across most major sectors, according to the agency's estimates.

IT WAS A STUNNING BLOW to folks in Garrett County, Maryland's western-most subdivision. Bausch & Lomb, the area's largest employer, announced it was shutting its 25-year-old plant in Oakland by the end of the year. That means a loss of 600 good-paying jobs in a town of only 1,700 residents. The company's contribution to the local economy nearly equals the entire county budget.Oakland's mayor said he was in "disbelief." There was no advance warning, no time for a counter-offer. Bausch and Lomb is struggling.

IMAGINE WALKING into your office, as always, and discovering that your desk has been cleaned out; your department is shuttered and locked; or you have 30 minutes to collect your belongings and leave. Would you be able to cope with unemployment? Companies are hiring - unemployment stood at 5 percent in July, down from more than 6 percent two years ago - but the job market is less than robust. And there's always the risk that your employer will defy statistics: Technology giant Hewlett-Packard Co., for instance, announced last month that it would eliminate about 10 percent of its full-time work force.

The first time he was fired, Bill Gentz didn't have a clue about what was coming. He got the pink slip just a few hours after receiving a favorable performance review and a raise.Mr. Gentz, who had been planning how to tell his wife about his raise, suddenly found himself rehearsing how to tell her he'd lost his job."I was in a state of shock. It came out of the blue," Mr. Gentz says of the layoff in 1981. He still resents the way the Philadelphia chemical company let him go without warning after 10 years of service.

The Carroll commissioners are working on a reorganization of county government that would, among other changes, create a separate Department of the Environment, officials said yesterday. The board also is expected to make recreation and parks its own department and to restructure the Office of Public Safety, which has been roundly criticized in recent months by volunteer firefighters. The changes, which officials are calling "a reconfiguration," will not cost the county any money, and they won't cost anyone his or her job, the officials said.

Employment in the Baltimore area has held up better in the last few difficult years than it has in other, similar regions, thanks largely to the strength of the education, health care and government sectors, according to a new study. The 2011 State of the Region report, produced for the Greater Baltimore Committee, says the Baltimore area's loss of 1.6 percent of its jobs between 2008 and 2010 was the fifth-smallest drop among 20 metro areas studied. Austin, Texas, had the best performance, with a drop of about half a percent, while Tampa's 3.6 percent job loss ranked the Florida city dead last.

As city administrator, my position serves "at the pleasure of" the mayor who appointed me, Craig A. Moe. I understand my position may end next month; and I accept that. However, one of my most important duties and responsibilities is to protect the city's exceptional employees. City employees provide the services that make our city a great place to live, work and do business. I believe I must speak out for our valuable employees to share the feelings they have expressed to me and their co-workers.

Maryland tied for the fastest pace of job loss in the past year in June, the federal government estimated Friday, the second month in a row that the state was at or near the bottom of the heap. The state's unemployment rate — which had been trending downward for months — hit 7 percent in June, up from 6.8 percent in May, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. It was the first time the jobless rate had risen since January 2010. Maryland lost nearly 15,000 jobs over the past 12 months, spread across most major sectors, according to the agency's estimates.

A broad swath of workers in the Baltimore region — including those landing jobs in the sector doing the most hiring these days — do not earn enough to afford a home or even to rent a two-bedroom apartment on their salaries alone. That's the conclusion of a study released today by the Center for Housing Policy. The Washington-based nonprofit reports each year on whether workers in common occupations that typically require no more than a bachelor's degree can find housing that doesn't take up a huge chunk of their income.

The latest news on Maryland's economy has been disappointing at best. The state lost more than 13,000 jobs in May, one of the highest job losses in the country. But worse, the unfavorable monthly data comes on the heels of a U.S. Department of Labor report that ranks Maryland dead last in the nation in job creation over the last 12 months. That's not something to be taken lightly — losing 20,000 jobs over the past year amounts to a 1 percent hit to Maryland's employment base.

Hampered by a slowdown in federal spending, Maryland came in dead last in the nation for its pace of job creation over the past year, shedding almost 1 percent of its employment base — nearly 20,000 positions — the U.S. Department of Labor reported. The figures released Friday show declines in Maryland in eight of the past 12 months. Twenty-two states added jobs during the past year. The preliminary report, which could be revised, isn't uniformly bad. The Labor Department's survey of households suggests that more Marylanders are working, either by finding employment out of state or by starting new businesses, neither of which would show up in the separate jobs count.

Facing unemployment in a dismal economy, Vernita Humphries of Randallstown was elated when she landed a job last year. But just days before her start date, the chief financial officer telephoned her personally to rescind the offer. Her bad credit, stemming in part from a divorce and the cost to care for her mother after a stroke, had come back to haunt her. "It was like a real bad feeling in the pit of my stomach," said Humphries, who worked in payroll for 35 years and couldn't fathom what hadn't checked out in her background.

Maryland's unemployment rate bumped up last month to 4.4 percent from 4.2 percent, but local economists think the news is more hopeful than horrible. About 8,000 state residents joined the labor force, while the unemployment rolls rose by 7,500 to 128,988 people in December, according to federal Labor Department numbers released yesterday and adjusted for seasonal variations. "The increase in unemployment was really not about job loss but people coming into the labor market looking for jobs," said Anirban Basu, head of Optimal Solutions Group, a Baltimore economic and policy consulting firm.

Maryland's job base took a U-turn back to growth in February, increasing by 8,100 positions after three consecutive months of losses, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday. The federal agency also said January wasn't quite as bad as it originally estimated, with 5,100 jobs lost in Maryland rather than the 7,100 it measured earlier. Even so, the February growth wasn't enough to make up for the previous three months, when employers cut 10,700 jobs from the state's total. State officials cheered the initial estimate of February growth, which showed a significantly faster pace than the nation's after a worse-than-average showing in January.

Viewed from an array of perspectives, Maryland's economy looks like a winner. During both the 2001 recession and the most recent economic downturn, Maryland's economy easily outperformed the nation's. For instance, during the earlier recession, Maryland's job loss was 15,800 jobs, or 0.6 percent of total nonfarm jobs at its pre-recession peak. By contrast, the nation lost 2 percent of its jobs, or 2.7 million. Maryland's advantage during the most recent recession was even more apparent.