WASHINGTON: More people were working and fewer were listed as unemployed in Washington County in March as the unemployment rate fell from 6 percent to 5.7 percent, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
The number of people with jobs rose by nearly 400 from February to March, hitting 71,658. That number is still below the more than 71,800 people who were working in November and December 2015 as the holiday shopping season was reaching its peak.
The number of unemployed people fell by 171 to 4,348, according to the report. The labor force, a combination of those employed, seeking employment and unemployed, rose by more than 200 to just over 76,000, the report said.
“There’s a lot of truck drivers still needed,” said Dawn Hatzer, who replaced the recently retired Peter Thomas as executive director of the Western Maryland Consortium. This region has many trucking and warehousing companies that need commercial drivers, she said.
People with bookkeeping and accounting skills are also in demand, said Hatzer, whose organization helps unemployed and underemployed people connect with job training and employment opportunities. Some manufacturers are also looking for workers, including painters, welders and general labor, she said. With spring here, building supply and landscaping companies are also looking for help, she said. Although higher than the rest of the county, the jobless rate for Hagerstown declined slightly from 7.1 percent to 7 percent in March, the report said.
The number of people working in Hagerstown was up by 100 to 18,206 in March, while the number of jobless was almost unchanged at 1,361, according to state figures. The labor force rose by almost 100 to 19,567, the report said. Maryland added more than 19,000 jobs statewide in March while maintaining its unemployment rate at 4.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national jobless rate in March was 5 percent.
