State of Working Maryland 2012

The Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute releases The State of Working Maryland 2012 today, documenting the continued stress and uncertainty working families face in Maryland. Although there has been some improvement in employment compared to the 2011 report, many other indicators show that times remain tough. 

• Maryland’s unemployment rate stands at 6.7 percent for October. Over the course of 2012 the rate increased and then subsided, ranging from a low of 6.5 percent in January to a high of 7.1 percent in August.

• The productivity of American workers continues to grow, but wages are growing at a much slower rate. From mid-2011 to mid-2012 productivity increased by 1.7 percent but average wages only increased 0.1 percent nationwide.

• More than one of every ten Marylanders lives below the national poverty level. The rate doubles for African-Americans, for families where the head of household lacks a high school education, and for families of single moms.

• Maryland’s median household remains the nation’s highest. But there are large regional, educational and racial disparities. Median income in Allegany County or Baltimore City is just over one third that in Howard County.

• While incomes have grown for Maryland’s highest earners, incomes for the poorest segment of the workforce have fallen behind prices since 1986.

• 765,000 Marylanders lack health insurance coverage. The number of Marylanders who got health coverage through their employers continued to decline while those getting public coverage (such as Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance) increased.

• Property foreclosures are now declining, but decent housing remains unaffordable for many families. More than half of Marylanders—whether renters or homeowners—devote over 30 percent of their incomes to housing.

• The costs of other necessities for working families are high and growing. Energy costs for Marylanders at all income levels greatly exceed the benchmark level of 6 percent of income. Public energy assistance programs address less than 10 percent of the energy affordability gap. Childcare costs have increased to the point where they are essentially equal to college tuition.

• Education remains the best route to a secure job with a good wage. But college costs are growing as a share of income and unmanageable college debt is a looming problem for more and more graduates.

Maryland and national lawmakers need to support policies that support working families in the present and build broadly shared economic prosperity in the future. To read more of MBTPI's analysis and our policy recommendations for the new year read The State of Working Maryland 2012.