MARYLAND AT A GLANCE

ECONOMY

EMPLOYMENT

WORKFORCE

[photo, Mural, East Antietam St. (near North Potomac St.), Hagerstown, Maryland] In 2024, Maryland's workforce totaled 2,764,497 people. Of these, some 530,257 workers, or 19.2%, were employed by federal, State and local governments in the public sector. Currently, Maryland is ranked third in the nation for its number of federal employees and is heavily reliant on the federal government for economic growth. In June 2025, Maryland saw the largest single-month decrease in federal government jobs in almost three decades when 3,500 positions were cut. The job losses are expected to continue as the downsizing of the federal government takes place.

Most Marylanders, 80.8%, worked in the private sector in 2024, with the majority employed in service-providing industries. Jobs covered a wide spectrum: from information to transportation-related professions, from education to finance and leisure.

Mural, East Antietam St. (near North Potomac St.), Hagerstown, Maryland, June 2004. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

According to WalletHub, Maryland is the second-most educated state in the nation in 2025. Maryland's workforce is also among the best educated in the country. In 2023, over 43.7% of its population aged 25 or older held a bachelor's degree or higher, including 21.3% who held a graduate or professional degree.

In 2024, Maryland had the second highest concentration of employed science, engineering and health doctorate holders; and the third highest concentration of workers in STEM occupations. In 2023, the State had the nation's second highest number of doctoral scientists and engineers. Moreover in 2023, Maryland's workforce ranked second in the country for its high percentage of professional and technical workers; and the third highest concentration of science and technology workers. In 2022, Maryland was the third-ranked state for a technology and science workforce.

TOTAL WORKFORCE - MARYLAND*
(annual averages)

2021 2022 2023 2024
Maryland 2,581,194 2,641,021 2,705,183 2,764,497


2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Maryland 2,626,510 2,652,465 2,676,716 2,698,113 2,512,624


2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Maryland 2,479,122 2,514,165 2,532,403 2,553,333 2,590,860


2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Maryland 2,530,129 2,546,850 2,537,400 2,460,972 2,454,418


2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Maryland 2,423,138 2,427,396 2,434,480 2,461,074 2,497,416


1997 1998 1999 2000
Maryland 2,231,499 2,284,671 2,347,638 2,404,095


PRIVATE & PUBLIC SECTOR WORKFORCE - MARYLAND*

2021 2022 2023 2024
Private Sector

goods producing

 278,555 (10.8%) 280,792 (10.6%) 282,859 (10.4%) 284,274 (10.3%)
natural resources & mining 7,480 7,114 7,385 7,549
construction 160,439 161,023 161,589 163,864
manufacturing 110,636 112,655 113,886 112,861
Private Sector

service providing

 1,820,864 (70.5%) 1,875,671 (71%) 1,908,502 (70.5%) 1,949,966 (70.5%)
trade, transportation, utilities, & Warehousing 461,791 472,221 467,141 467,275
information 33,530 35,818 35,150 34,621
financial activities 129,037 127,930 126,804 126,442
professional & business 458,223 475,004 476,739 483,892
education & health 424,983 430,140 449,513 473,517
leisure & hospitality 230,700 249,678 263,956 271,355
other 82,243 84,880 89,159 92,552
Public Sector 481,775 (18.7%) 484,559 (18.3%) 513,821 (19%) 530,257 (19.2%)
local government 234,130 229,902 252,582 260,556
state government 95,114 100,006 102,765 108,023
federal government 152,531 154,650 158,475 161,679


2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Private Sector
goods producing		 270,891 (10.3%) 273,719 (10.3%) 278,931 (10.4%) 285,599 (10.6%) 275,651 (11%)
natural resources & mining 6,431 6,434 6,444 7,194 7,112
construction 160,868 162,154 163,285 166,132 160,039
manufacturing 103,592 105,130 109,202 112,273 108,500
Private Sector
service providing		 1,869,496 (71.2%) 1,891,680 (71.3%) 1,908,679 (71.3%) 1,921,913 (71.2%) 1,756,036 (70%)
trade, transportation, utilities, & Warehousing 461,148 461,998 462,196 463,647 441,680
information 37,695 37,625 36,234 35,678 33,029
financial activities 139,872 140,275 138,188 135,216 129,771
professional & business 442,057 443,960 452,271 461,724 441,860
education & health 425,693 436,174 445,187 451,332 420,463
leisure & hospitality 272,346 280,175 282,048 282,746 210,848
other 90,685 91,472 92,553 91,545 78,236
Public Sector 486,101 (18.5%) 487,036 (18.4%) 489,102 (18.3%) 490,602 (18.2%) 480,937 (19.1%)
local government 242,364 242,559 244,297 245,310 233,892
state government 97,937 97,770 99,857 99,716 97,694
federal government 145,800 146,707 144,948 145,576 149,351


2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Private Sector
goods producing		 262,754 (10.6%) 259,297 (10.3%) 259,046 (10.2%) 259,619 (10.2%) 264,416 (10.2%)
natural resources & mining 6,553 6,926 6,338 6,435 6,473
construction 143,152 143,303 146,207 149,622 154,047
manufacturing 113,049 109,068 106,501 103,562 103,896
Private Sector
service providing		 1,728,440 (69.7%) 1,766,655 (70.3%) 1,786,284 (70.5%) 1,807,725 (70.8%) 1,840,758 (71.1%)
trade, transportation, utilities, & Warehousing 439,656 444,972 445,462 449,318 458,015
information 41,713 39,804 39,491 38,801 38,449
financial activities 136,487 137,521 138,212 137,176 138,896
professional & business 397,247 409,726 417,061 424,517 430,326
education & health 391,842 400,436 403,282 408,350 417,845
leisure & hospitality 233,724 244,213 254,166 260,379 267,202
other 87,771 89,983 88,610 89,184 90,025
Public Sector 487,919 (19.7%) 488,202 (19.4%) 487,073 (19.2%) 485,989 (19.0%) 485,685 (18.7%)
local government 241,039 241,058 242,082 243,513 242,724
state government 102,367 100,790 100,379 99,484 98,833
federal government 144,513 146,354 144,612 142,992 144,128


2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Private Sector
goods producing		 331,590 (13.1%) 326,133 (12.8%) 313,044 (12.3%) 278,257 (11.3%) 264,380 (10.8%)
natural resources & mining 6,836 6,556 6,528 6,428 6,520
construction 188,420 187,878 178,076 153,122 142,774
manufacturing 136,334 131,699 128,440 118,707 115,086
Private Sector
service providing		 1,741,777 (68.8%) 1,758,249 (69%) 1,753,071 (69.1%) 1,705,302 (69.3%) 1,705,856 (69.5%)
trade, transportation & utilities 470,271 472,365 461,249 436,545 434,661
information 50,726 50,646 49,820 46,513 43,830
financial activities 157,729 154,556 149,220 141,937 138,000
professional & business 394,518 396,733 398,952 384,033 386,796
education & health 349,136 359,053 367,671 378,238 385,013
leisure & hospitality 229,694 234,278 236,048 230,220 229,797
other 89,703 90,618 90,111 87,816 87,759
Public Sector 455,492 (18.0%) 461,356 (18.1%) 470,409 (18.5%) 476,918 (19.4%) 484,108 (19.7%)
local government 232,795 237,879 243,576 244,866 241,869
state government 97,519 98,634 99,683 100,190 102,312
federal government 125,178 124,843 127,150 131,862 139,927


2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Private Sector
goods producing		 339,518 (14.0%) 328,847 (13.5%) 321,733 (13.2%) 325,826 (13.2%) 330,435 (13.2%)
natural resources & mining 6,278 6,247 6,440 6,687 6,891
construction 164,880 165,725 167,495 175,967 182,878
manufacturing 168,360 156,875 147,798 143,172 140,666
Private Sector
manufacturing		 1,634,258 (67.4%) 1,644,350 (67.7%) 1,660,125 (68.1%) 1,686,668 (68.5%) 1,716,583 (68.7%)
trade, transportation & utilities 466,494 461,501 458,526 463,227 466,162
information 58,380 53,402 50,365 50,121 50,368
financial activities 148,821 151,187 156,231 156,352 158,234
professional & business 358,310 357,504 360,676 370,638 383,250
education & health 307,161 318,044 326,564 333,435 340,182
leisure & hospitality 208,691 215,106 218,993 224,371 229,246
other 86,401 87,606 88,770 88,524 89,141
Public Sector 442,648 (18.2%) 450,215 (18.5%) 450,458 (18.5%) 446,342 (18.1%) 448,627 (17.9%)
local government 218,036 223,486 225,125 223,492 226,183
state government 98,134 98,415 97,069 95,928 96,707
federal government 126,782 128,314 128,264 126,922 125,737


1997 1998 1999 2000
Private Sector
manufacturing		 176,722 (7.9%) 178,051 (7.8%) 176,862 (7.5%) 180,101 (7.4%)
Private Sector
nonmanufacturing		 1,645,289 (73.7%) 1,687,246 (73.8%) 1,744,916 (74.3%) 1,792,860 (74.6%)
services 710,287 737,058 766,113 793,234
trade (wholesale) 110,300 110,795 112,958 114,255
trade (retail) 426,555 430,447 435,939 441,981
contract construction 137,820 140,815 149,808 156,501
finance, insurance, real estate 131,161 134,394 139,642 138,203
transportation, communications,
public utilities		 103,126 103,892 108,446 111,441
other 26,070 29,745 32,010 37,245
Public Sector 409,488 (18.4%) 419,274 (18.4%) 425,860 (18.1%) 431,134 (17.9%)
local government 195,356 203,116 207,284 210,707
state government 89,662 89,483 91,634 93,713
federal government 125,470 126,675 126,942 126,714

* Resident & nonresident wage-earners working in Maryland.

Sources: Annual Maryland Current Employment Statistics, Department of Labor


CIVILIAN WORKFORCE - MARYLAND
(annual averages)

2021 2022 2023 2024
Employed* 2,999,053 3,076,521 3,128,710 3,149,292
Unemployed** 164,781 (5.2%) 94,583 (3.0%) 70,142 (2.2%) 98,486 (3.0%)
TOTAL 3,163,834 3,171,104 3,198,852 3,247,778


2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Employed* 3,020,827 3,114,580 3,146,485 3,221,709 3,026,142
Unemployed** 135,091 (4.3%) 129,316 (4.0%) 124,150 (3.6%) 112,704 (3.4%) 209,784 (6.5%)
TOTAL 3,155,918 3,243,896 3,270,635 3,334,413 3,235,926


2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Employed* 2,872,084 2,902,307 2,923,498 2,941,562 2,983,083
Unemployed** 224,477 (7.2%) 217,340 (7.0%) 205,854 (6.6%) 181,486 (5.8%) 156,905 (5.0%)
TOTAL 3,096,561 3,119,647 3,129,352 3,123,048 3,139,988


2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Employed* 2,892,620 2,873,512 2,867,178 2,820,245 2,838,492
Unemployed** 116,523 (3.9%) 106,841 (3.6%) 130,531 (4.4%) 212,455 (7.0%) 235,334 (7.7%)
TOTAL 3,009,143 2,980,353 2,997,709 3,032,700 3,073,826


2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Employed* 2,712,268 2,732,057 2,749,111 2,764,110 2,813,781
Unemployed** 114,779 (4.1%) 128,139 (4.5%) 128,858 (4.5%) 124,047 (4.3%) 121,283 (4.1%)
TOTAL 2,827,047 2,860,196 2,877,969 2,888,157 2,935,064


1997 1998 1999 2000
Employed* 2,646,200 2,661,192 2,687,843 2,711,382
Unemployed** 132,002 (4.8%) 118,817 (4.3%) 100,027 (3.6%) 100,275 (3.6%)
TOTAL 2,778,202 2,780,009 2,787,870 2,811,657

* Resident wage-earners working either in Maryland or out of state.
** Unemployed Maryland residents actively seeking work.

Sources: Annual Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Department of Labor

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