Bill signing and unemployment

Governor O'Malley signed almost 300 bills into law this afternoon.  Media coverage focused on three environmental bills, the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012 (SB 236/HB 445), the expansion of the Bay Restoration Fund (HB 446/SB 240), and the Watershed Protection and Restoration Program (HB 987/SB 614).  The list also includes bills related to the health benefit exchange, electronic filing of tax credits, a foreclosed properties registry, recycling at large apartment buildings,and a host of other topics.

This morning the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released March employment figures for metropolitan statistical areas (MSA's).  There are four MSA's centered in Maryland: Baltimore-Towson, Cumberland, Hagerstown-Martinsburg, and Salisbury.  Maryland also includes portions of the DC and Philadelphia MSA's.  The unemployment rate improved compared to March 2011 for all but one of those areas (metro unemployment is not seasonally adjusted, so in order to compare like to like we have to look back 12 months).

Unemployment in the Salisbury MSA - which includes Somerset and Wicomico counties - was 9.3 percent in March 2011 and 2012.  The Salisbury MSA also has the highest unemployment rate of any region in MD. Employment in the Salisbury area is concentrated in education and healthcare, a relatively strong industry most of the country in recent years.  However, the region's next largest industries are wholesale and retail trade, construction, and hospitality, which have been more vulnerable during and after the Great Recession.

click on graph to enlarge