By Brent Addleman
(The Center Square) – Maryland enjoyed job gains and a slight decrease in unemployment for the month of July, state officials announced.
The state added 22,200 jobs and the unemployment rate dropped by 0.2% to 6.0% for the month, according to a news release from the Department of Labor.
Delegate Bonnie Cullison, D-Silver Spring, said in a tweet the numbers were promising, but more work needs to be done to restore the economy.
“Maryland added 22,000 jobs in July; while this shows progress, our unemployment rate is still higher than the national average,” Cullison said in a tweet. “The effect of the virus variant is still unknown, so we must remain diligent and deliberative as we support folks so they can get back to work.”
The state, according to data made available in the release, shows the state has gained 56,800 jobs this year.
The biggest sector of job growth in Maryland was the Professional and Business Sector, which added 5,700 jobs. In the Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services fields, 2,700 jobs were added. Trade, Transportation, and Utilities added 2,300 jobs, while Leisure and Hospitality added 1,900 jobs.
The Education and Health Service sectors saw a decline of 5,700 jobs for the month, according to the state’s release.
Sectors experiencing a decline included Education and Health Service with 5,700 drop in jobs.
Maryland’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.2% in July to 6.0%, ranking 35th in the nation. Nebraska had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.4% and Nevada had the highest at 7.7%.