National Rate

Mortgage delinquency at 4.34% in Maryland in first three months The mortgage delinquency rate in Maryland was higher than the regional and national average during the first three months of this year, according to the latest National Delinquency Survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. While the national rate fell to its lowest point in 28 years, Maryland's delinquency rate of 4.34 percent surpassed the South Atlantic region's rate of 4.04 percent and the national rate of 3.45 percent.

Maryland's infant mortality rate, for many years among the worst in the nation, fell 11 percent last year to a record low.The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which released new figures yesterday, credited programs that have discouraged teen-age pregnancy, ushered low-income women into prenatal care, and raised awareness of sudden infant death syndrome."

Maryland's unemployment rate barely changed in May, inching up to a seasonally adjusted 5.0 percent from 4.9 percent in April, but still a half-point less than the national rate of 5.5 percent, state officials said yesterday.Maryland ended 1994 with a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 4.7 percent. Analysts expect little change in state unemployment until next year, when federal budget cuts could put more people out of work."For the balance of the year, I think it'll be just about where it is now," said Robert Sweet, chief economist for First National Bank of Maryland.

Who says we can't control our spending? Virtually every state, including Maryland, saw a drop in the second quarter in their credit card delinquencies. According to credit bureau TransUnion, the delinquency rate - bills past due by 90 or more days - fell to 0.6 percent from 0.74 percent in the first quarter. That's the lowest level since 1994. Maryland's delinquency rate is near the national average at 0.61 percent. (TransUnion didn't say what our rate was in the first quarter.)

A recent letter to The Sun reported that the Mercatus Center at George Mason University ranked Maryland near the bottom in overall freedom and cited a statistic that the state has lost population ("The 'Free State' isn't so free anymore," April 3). Nonsense. Maryland's population grew by just under 45,000 people between July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2012 according to estimates just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Maryland's total gain was ranked 13th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, while its .8 percent increase exceeded the national rate of increase.

WHY ARE Miami homeowners who took out new mortgages during 1997 defaulting on them at a rate more than five times the national average? Why are Washington and Baltimore-area 1997 borrowers going delinquent at nearly double the national rate?And why, by contrast, are homeowners in San Francisco, Cincinnati and San Jose who closed on new mortgages last year defaulting at a rate about one-quarter the national average?No one knows for sure. But a new statistical study documents the huge -- and surprising -- variations in payback performances by recent home-loan borrowers in 85 of the largest housing markets in the country.

Maryland has improved its ranking in the most recent edition of a national survey that measures conditions for children, moving to 22nd in the country this year on the strength of its wealth and the declining numbers of students dropping out of school. But Jann Jackson, executive director of Advocates for Children and Youth in Baltimore, said that although Maryland is doing better, the gap between its haves and have-nots is larger than that of other states. Maryland remained near the bottom of the country in its rate of infant deaths and low-weight babies, according to the annual Kids Count Data Book, which is to be released today in Washington, D.C. Maryland ranked best in its rate of child poverty, which was seventh-lowest in the nation.

In the Region Average cost of hospital stay up 9% in Md. The cost of the average hospital stay in Maryland rose 9 percent in the fiscal year ending in June 2004, the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission reported yesterday. That's a faster rate of increase than the national rate, which was about 6 percent over the same period, according to the commission. Maryland's rate-controlled system has beaten the national rate most years, and the average Maryland charge, $8,403 in fiscal 2004, remains about 4 percent below the national average of about $8,750.

Maryland hospitals are gearing up to challenge state rate-setters' efforts to squeeze hospital rates by nearly 4 percent.The rate squeeze was triggered by a formula designed to make sure Maryland's hospital costs don't increase at a faster rate than the national average. This past year, Maryland costs grew by 4.5 percent, about double the national rate, while hospital profits reached record levels.The "correction factor," which began taking effect this month, doesn't mean every hospital will see its rates cut -- in fact, the Maryland Hospital Association estimated about half will get an increase.

Maryland's unemployment rate decreased slightly in December as many workers left the labor market and others found temporary jobs with businesses looking to supplement their staff during the holiday season. The state's unemployment rate was 4.1 percent for the month, down from October's 4.3 percent. When seasonal anomalies - such as a surge in retail hiring around the holidays - are factored out, the state's unemployment rate actually increased to 4.5 percent, state officials reported yesterday.