Maryland has lost more than 15,000 federal jobs since January, with 2,500 jobs lost in August alone, according to a state Department of Labor report.

The report is based on data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which indicated that Maryland’s overall workforce decreased by 3,200 jobs in the month of August.

Of these 3,200 jobs, 2,000 were private sector jobs and 1,200 were public sector jobs.

The Maryland Department of Labor said the driving fact in the public sector decrease stemmed from the loss of 2,500 federal jobs in August, which brought the state’s overall federal job loss to 15,100 since President Donald Trump took office.

About 269,000 Marylanders were employed by the federal government in 2023, according to a report from the state that showed 158,475 federal jobs based in the state that March. Both numbers have been on a decline as Trump takes aim at the nationwide federal workforce to means to reduce government spending.

But the federal workforce in Maryland was not the only workforce to decline in August, according to the state department’s recent report. The following five sectors were the had the largest estimated employment loss last month:

—Administrative, support, waste management and remediation services — loss of 1,900 jobs

—Government — loss of 1,200 jobs

—Health care and social assistance — loss of 1,100 jobs

—Manufacturing — loss of 1,100 jobs

—Other services — loss of 1,700 jobs

The department indicated that since Gov. Wes Moore took office in Jan. 2023, Maryland has gained a total of 96,000 jobs, placing the state’s job growth at 3.5% — higher than the nation’s growth of 3.1%.

According to the August report, the sectors to see the largest increases were:

—Construction — +2,700 jobs

—Accommodation and food services — +1,400 jobs

—Professional, scientific and technical services — +600 jobs

—Private education services — +500 jobs

—Real estate, rental and leasing — +300 jobs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the state’s unemployment rate increased from 3.4% to 3.6% in August. But despite the trend, the department said Maryland’s unemployment rate is still lower than the nation’s rate of 4.3%.

_____

©2025 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.