If you’re one of the millions of Americans looking for work, you should know that there are plenty of opportunities to find Baltimore jobs.
Despite losing some workers amidst the current economy, the Baltimore-Towson area has managed to maintain a relatively low unemployment rate. During August, the area saw its unemployment rate decrease from 7.9 percent to 7.7 percent, which was lower than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.7 percent.
Even though the unemployment rate dropped, the area did lose some jobs during August, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. That month the area had a total non-farm employment of 1,277,900 workers, which is down from 1,286,500 workers during July and a 3 percent decrease from last year.
During 2008, Baltimore’s civilian workforce increased from 276,893 to 278,508 people. The city’s private sector accounted for 41,369 new hires during 2008, which is down from 46,177 new hires during 2007. Administrative and support services; food services and drinking places; professional, scientific and technical services; educational services; and hospitals accounted for the majority of new hires that year.
According to the Maryland Department of Labor, the median household income for Baltimore residents increased to $40,000 during 2008, up from $36,650 during 2006 and up from $34,250 during 2004.
Baltimore itself is home to three Fortune 500 companies, including Constellation Energy, Legg Mason and T. Rowe Price. Maryland is home to nine other Fortune 500 companies, including:
- Lockheed Martin
- Marriott International
- Coventry Health Care
- Black & Decker
- Host Hotels & Resorts
- Discovery Communications
- W.R. Grace
- McCormick
- Catalyst Health Solutions
Other well-known companies headquartered in the city include Brown Advisory, Alex. Brown & Sons, FTI Consulting, Vertis, Thomson Prometric, Performax, Sylvan Learning/Laureate Education, Under Armour, DAP, 180°, DeBaufre Bakeries, Old Mutual Financial Network and Advertising.com.
Also worth noting is Johns Hopkins Hospitals, which will eventually serve as the center of a new biotechnology park, one of two similar projects planned for Baltimore.
If you’re looking for work in the private sector and wondering what industry to get into, the industries that had the highest employment during 2008, from highest to lowest, were:
- education and health services with 92,262 jobs
- professional and business services with 41,841 jobs
- trade, transportation and utilities with 39,316 jobs
- leisure and hospitality with 25,196 jobs
- financial activities with 20,374 jobs
- manufacturing with 15,814 jobs
- construction with 10,745 jobs
- other services with 10,710 jobs
- information with 5,470 jobs
- natural resources and mining with 18 jobs
The government industry accounted for a total of 77,894 jobs during 2008, with federal government contributing 8,233 jobs, state government contributing 41,540 jobs and local government contributing 28,121.
Tags: Baltimore jobs