the nation according to the U.S. Department of Labor. After last
Friday's release of June state unemployment figures, there is now six
months of data with which to compare the states. Maryland, which lost
just over 10,000 jobs since the beginning of this year, is among a
dozen states to have experienced declines during this period.
"This is a very disturbing trend, which needs to be addressed," said
Change Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan. "I'm deeply concerned
that state government's onslaught of taxes and fees is causing us to
lose businesses, jobs and taxpayers at an alarming rate."
Maryland has raised taxes and fees 24 times since 2007, removing an
additional $2.4 billion from the economy annually.
Maryland is also performing poorly in another important time period.
From the beginning of 2007 to present, Maryland has lost more jobs than
any other state in the region except for Pennsylvania, where each
state lost nearly 40,000 and 60,000 jobs respectively.
"Governor O'Malley says repeatedly that Maryland has fared better
than other states during the recession," said Hogan. "He should be
talking about our state's performance relative to others in this region,
not compared to Michigan or Nevada. Once again he is cherry
picking data in an attempt to fool people."
A comparison frequently made on all sides of the political spectrum is
between Maryland and Virginia. Maryland's unemployment rate, at 6.9%,
contrasts sharply with Virginia's 5.7%. This is the widest gap
between the two states since 2001, when Parris Glendening was
governor.
The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics measures total
non-farm employment. June numbers are preliminary.
###
Background:
http://www.bls.gov/sae/#data
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