The Week Ahead

Last week we blogged about new family employment figures. This week keep an eye out for the release of our fourth State of Working Maryland 2012 video, on paid sick leave.

For the week of April 29nd through May 5th:

• On Monday, April 29th, the Durable Medical Equipment Provider Task Force discusses recommendations to the Board of Pharmacy regarding which prescription devices it should regulate, from 1-3pm in the Metro Executive Building rooms 108-109, 4201 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore.
• Also on Monday, the Alcoholic Beverages Article Review Committee meets to discuss per diem licenses at 5pm in the Judicial Training Room, 2009F Commerce Park Drive, Annapolis.
• On Wednesday, May 1st, the Maryland Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Authority meets at 9am in the Lower Level Conference Room at the One Call Center, 7223 Parkway Drive, Hanover.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases metropolitan level employment figures for March. Preliminary data for February showed declining unemployment rates in all Maryland metros, compared to one year prior (the data is not seasonally adjusted and therefore must be examined by comparing February 2013 with February 2012).
• Also on Wednesday, the Board of Public Works meets at 10am in the State House.
• Wednesday afternoon sees a meeting of the Health Services Cost Review Commission at 1pm in room 100 of 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore.
• On Friday, May 3rd, BLS releases national employment figures for April. Preliminary data for March showed a slight decline in the unemployment rate.

Metro unemployment rates down since peak

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released metro-level unemployment figures for November 2012 today. The unemployment rates in Maryland's metropolitan areas ranged from 6.8 to 8.6 percent. The two largest nearby metro areas-Washington D.C. and Philadelphia-had unemployment rates of 5 and 8 percent, respectively.

Click to enlarge

Every metropolitan area has seen declines in the unemployment rate since the end of the recession.

The Week Ahead (Orioles Make the Playoffs Edition)

Today is an important date for two reasons. First, it is the day when more than 250 new state laws go into effect including employee and job applicant protections for personal online accounts, and requiring apartment buildings with more than 10 units to recycle. Second, today is the first day of the federal fiscal year. While Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through next March, the threat of federal cuts still looms over Maryland's economy.

Monday, October 1st

• Exchange Financing and Sustainability Advisory Committee of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Board meets. 9:30-11:30am in the Maryland Health Care Commission large conference room, 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore.
• Capital Debt Affordability Committee meets to decide on their recommendation for the total amount of new state debt that may prudently be authorized for the next fiscal year. 3pm in the Treasury Building Assembly Room, 80 Calvert Street, Annapolis.

Tuesday, October 2nd

• Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review meets to discuss proposed Department of Health and Mental Hygiene regulations.  2:30pm in room 130, House Office Building, 6 Bladen Street, Annapolis,
• Task Force on the Establishment of a Statewide Spay/Neuter Fund meets. 1pm in room 250, House Office Building, Annapolis.

Wednesday, October 3rd

• Joint Committee on Federal Relations conducts a site visit to the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the nexus between state and federal regulatory efforts. 10am at the FDA Headquarters, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring.
• Board of Public Works meets (the pre-meeting will be held at 9:45am in room 217). 10am in the Governor's Reception Room, Second Floor, State House, Annapolis.
• Work Group on Access to Habilitative Services Benefits meets. Meeting information and meeting notes are available on the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) web site. 9-11am, 24th Floor, St. Paul Plaza, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore.
• Maryland Community Health Resources Commission (CHRC) reviews the Health Enterprise Zone call for proposals, CHRC's budget for FY 2014, and grantee modification requests. Keep an eye on the Commission's web site for changes to the time of this meeting. Noon in room 240, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases metropolitan-level employment statistics for August 2012.

Thursday, October 4th

• Southern Maryland Higher Education Council meets for a work session.  10am to noon in the conference room, Courthouse Square Office Building, 205 Main Street, Prince Frederick.
• Maryland Nonprofits offers Taking Your Board to the Next Level of Success. This training builds on a popular breakout session at our parent organization's annual conference. For more information and to register visit Maryland Nonprofits' events page. 

Friday, October 5th

• BLS releases national employment data for September 2012. The national unemployment rate fell two tenths of a percentage point in August, to 8.1 percent.

Metro unemployment down in MD

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released July employment data today for metropolitan areas. All four metros in Maryland have lower unemployment than a year ago.

Maryland's (not seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate was 7.1 percent in July, down from 7.4 percent in the same month in 2011. Baltimore-Towson's rate was 7.7 percent, down slightly from 7.9 percent. The decline in Cumberland was also slight, from 8.2 to 8 percent unemployment. By comparison, the improvement in Salisbury and Hagerstown-Martinsburg was more significant. Salisbury moved from 9.3 percent unemployment to 8.6 percent; while Hagerstown-Martinsburg fell almost a full percentage point, from 8.9 percent to 8 percent unemployment.

These are encouraging developments, but it is important to remember that there are still roughly 223,000 unemployed Marylanders looking for work.

The other bit of data released by BLS today was the number of jobs in each metro area. Again, all four Maryland metros improved at least slightly. While the number of jobs in Baltimore-Towson only grew by one tenth of one percent over the past year, Cumberland grew 1.7 percent. Hagerstown-Martinsburg added 0.6 percent more jobs, and Salisbury added 0.8 percent more. Statewide, Maryland added 0.9 percent more jobs.

Black unemployment rate more than double that of whites

The Baltimore region had the second highest black to white unemployment ratio in the country in 2011, according to a new brief released Tuesday by the Economic Policy Institute. In that year, black members of the region's workforce were 2.6 times more likely to be unemployed than white workers. Only Minneapolis-St. Paul had a higher ratio. The Washington DC metro area (including northern Virginia and the District)--where blacks were 2.4 times more likely to be unemployed--was fifth.

On the other hand the metro Baltimore black unemployment rate of 13.1 percent was below the national average of 15.9 percent. It also declined more than the national average (-1.4 percentage points compared to -.01) between 2010 and 2011. Regardless, the continuing high unemployment rate among blacks, and particularly when compared to whites, is unconscionable.

Preliminary 2011 figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate a statewide unemployment rate of 10.3 percent among blacks, compared to just 5.7 percent among whites and 7 percent among Hispanics/Latinos.

MBTPI will continue to work with our partners on legislation that attacks the structural underpinnings of this tragedy (poverty, the achievement gap, racism), and promote anti-poverty strategies such as fully funding Head Start and public schools, affordable housing, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and many more.

New Certified Public Manager program

Over lunch I attended an open house for a new partnership between Maryland Nonprofits and the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore, the Maryland Certified Public Manager(CPM) program.

Starting in October, the CPM program is a leadership development program for public managers and supervisors. The program will offer "participants the opportunity to learn and practice the critical leadership skills and competencies necessary to effectively meet the complex demands and challenges in the 21st century public management environment."

The program is designed for people who are preparing to move into supervisory or management positions, those who want to update their skills, as well as managers and supervisors who have professional or technical training in another field but do not have formal management training. 

If you or your organization/agency are interested, applications are being accepted now through 5pm, August 2nd. The next informational session about the program will be held on July 26th from 9-11am at our offices at 1500 Union Ave. in Baltimore.

Metropolitan Employment

In other news, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released May data on metro area labor markets today.  The trends look better for Maryland than they have in the last few months, as all four metros experienced lower unemployment rates compared to May 2011 (BLS does not provide seasonally adjusted figures at the metro level, so comparing April to May is meaningless). Even Salisbury, which has seen higher rates on an annual basis until last month when it was stable, fell to 8.5 percent unemployment, compared to 8.9 percent 12 months prior.