Maryland’s economy kept adding jobs in June, according to federal data released Tuesday, a modest gain that offers some reassurance to Southern Maryland communities still absorbing the effects of federal workforce reductions tied to the region’s heavy concentration of government and defense jobs.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that Maryland’s total nonfarm employment rose by 900 jobs in June, while the agency revised its earlier estimate for May downward by 1,100 jobs, trimming that month’s gain to 4,000. Combined, the state has added 17,800 jobs through the first half of 2026, growing at a rate of 0.64% — nearly double the 0.35% pace of national job growth over the same period, according to BLS figures.
Maryland’s unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.3% in June, just above the national rate of 4.2%. The state’s labor force participation rate held at 63.9%, well above the 61.5% national average, a gap Maryland officials have pointed to as evidence that more of the state’s working-age population remains engaged in the job market than in much of the country.
