The state?s fast-paced economy is showing signs of stalling, economists said.
In the most recent data released last Friday, Maryland’s unemployment rate reached 4 percent in June, the highest level this year and up from 3.8 percent in May, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
While Maryland’s unemployment rate rose in June, it remained below the national average of 4.6 percent, the Labor Department said.
Even so, some local economists suggest the unemployment numbers preclude a Maryland economy that will continue to slow in the second half of the year.
“The question is will the U.S. and Maryland economy continue to slow in the third and fourth quarter as they did in the second quarter,” said Anirban Basu, CEO of the Sage Policy Group, an economic and policy firm in Baltimore.
He said he doubts the unemployment jump in June was just a blip.
“The pace of hiring in Maryland is slowing just as it is nationally. We like to believe that Maryland is special, but we are still subject to rising energy costs, rising interest rates and a slowing housing market just as the balance of the nation,” Basu said.
Maryland lost about 2,100 jobs in June.
Professor Mahlon Straszheim, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, said he expects job growth to continue to slow in the second half.
“I think rising energy costs and the associated increase in interest rates will continue to have an impact on consumer confidence,” Straszheim said.
The state?s unemployment rate has risen every month since March, when it was its lowest this year at 3.4 percent. It rose to 3.5 percent in April.
