The unemployment rate across Montgomery County, Maryland, has reached a new 33-year low at 1.5%, according to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The steady job growth has outpaced jurisdictions across the region.
“Even in the face of the economic trials of the pandemic, we’re seeing indications that our local economy is fairing well and doing better than five years ago,” said County Executive Marc Elrich, during a media briefing.
The average rate typically considered full employment sits around 3% to 4%.
“We’ve set some notable marks,” he added.
Bill Tompkins, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, said the numbers suggest anyone looking for work is able to find it.
“We think things are going to be pretty good this year, and they’ll be better next year so we’ll just keep on building our momentum,” he added.
The county is home to 33,000 businesses, according to Elrich. He pointed to efforts to attract new businesses while adding an additional 14,000 jobs from March 2022 to March of this year.
The county is also considered the third largest bio-health cluster in the nation. Over the past several years, empty office space has been transformed to more than 1 million new square feet of lab space, Elrich said, with an additional 3 million in development.
Projects, such as the University of Maryland’s Institute for Health Computing in North Bethesda are also contributing to the growth.
When looking at scientific and professional jobs, Tompkins says the county has grown by 9.4% over where the county was before the pandemic.
Despite the record low unemployment, there is still work to be done when considering those not earning livable wages, officials said. The numbers also don’t take into account those who have stopped looking for work. Affordable housing is also a major concern across the county, where there remains a need for more affordable units.
Anthony Featherstone, the executive director of WorkSource Montgomery, works with the business community and jobseekers to help them gain skills and navigate the local economy. He said the group focuses on working with discouraged workers, or those who have searched for work over the last 12 months but have faced barriers entering the job market.
“Older workers, ex-offenders … are typically falling within that category so we’re doing a lot to make sure we’re going out and engaging folks,” he said.
