Unemployment rates in Maryland and Virginia are improving, but they still remain high, and jobs gained or regained are still far shy of jobs that have been lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the unadjusted unemployment rate in Maryland in September was 6.9%. That’s down from 7.2% in August. A year ago, however, Maryland’s statewide unemployment rate was 3.3%
Virginia’s not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6% in September. That’s down from 6.3% in August — but a year earlier, Virginia’s unemployment rate was 2.6%.
At the end of September, Maryland’s civilian labor force totaled 2.6 million. That’s 162,000 fewer jobs than a year earlier — a 5.9% decline. Virginia ended the month of September with 3.9 million civilian labor force jobs. That’s down 207,100 — a 5.1% from a year earlier.
Combined, the job losses in Maryland and Virginia total 369,000 jobs.
The two states with the highest September unemployment rates are both heavily dependent on tourists. Hawaii’s unemployment rate last month was 15.1%. In Nevada, it was 12.6%.
Unemployment rates in September fell from the previous month in 30 states, rose in eight and were unchanged in 12.
States with the lowest unemployment rates in September were Nebraska, at 3.5%, and South Dakota, at 4.1%.
