Montgomery County Has Lowest Jobless Rate in Maryland: Latest Figures

The latest federal job figures show that Montgomery County has the lowest unemployment rate in Maryland, with nearly 10,000 more jobs compared with August 2014.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the county’s unemployment rate in August stood at 3.8 percent, following a steady decline over the previous year. In August 2014, the jobless rate was 4.6 percent.

“These latest figures are good news for the county,” Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett said Tuesday in a statement. “We need to build on these gains to provide for the good jobs of the future and grow investment and the county tax base.”

Job growth has picked up this year in Maryland and across the country, according to the Washington Business Journal. Maryland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent in August, compared with 5.7 percent in August 2014.

The state added 2,700 jobs from July to August, while Virginia picked up 900 jobs, the Business Journal reported. Combined, Maryland and Virginia had 94,000 more jobs in August than a year ago.

Jobless rates in August were down in all of Maryland’s 23 counties compared with the same month in 2014, according to BLS figures published by the Maryland Office of Workforce Information & Performance. The city of Baltimore had Maryland’s highest unemployment rate at 8 percent, but this was an improvement over the previous year’s figure of 9.1 percent.

In Prince George’s County, the August jobless rate stood at 5.1 percent; in August 2014, it was 6.2 percent. In Anne Arundel County, the August jobless rate was 4.5 percent; in August 2014, it was 5.4 percent.