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Community Corner

Howard County Unemployment Drops to 4.8 Percent

Maryland's private sector added 6,000 jobs in February.

Unemployment in the state of Maryland fell by less than one percent in February, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Labor. 

Maryland added 10,500 new jobs, with about 6,000 coming from the private sector, the report stated. The state’s unemployment fell from 6.7 percent in January to 6.6 percent in February, which is more than 1 percent lower than the national 7.7 unemployment rate.

Furthermore, Howard County’s unemployment rate dropped well below the state average. The county saw its unemployment rate fall from 5.0 percent in January to 4.8 percent in February; the lowest in Maryland.

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“Howard County’s climate for job growth remains strong, and my administration is committed to improving the conditions that will keep it that way,” Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said in a statement. “We need policy-makers in Washington reach a long-term solution to budgetary and fiscal challenges so that our recovery can continue.”

With Maryland’s job numbers improving, Gov. Martin O’Malley last week stated that 95 percent of the jobs lost during the recession have been recovered, reported the Baltimore Business Journal.

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Though private sector jobs continued to increase, government jobs in the state decreased by 4,500.  The U.S. Department of Labor’s report, released late last week, showed that the professional and business services sector added 1,900 jobs in February.

"As Maryland's jobs numbers rise, it's clear our investments in workforce training are continuing to pay off," said Maryland Labor Secretary Leonard Howie, in a statement on the Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation's website

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