New employment estimates released on May 22 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggest total nonfarm employment in Maryland rose by 2,800 jobs in April. BLS also revised its preliminary estimates of Maryland employment in March upwards by another 2,100 jobs to a gain of 5,300 jobs in March. Despite continued headwinds from the federal government, Maryland’s job growth has outperformed national trends across the first four months of 2026. Maryland has added 11,700 total jobs so far in 2026 and employment has grown roughly twice as fast as national trends.

The Burea of Labor Statistics estimates that Maryland’s unemployment rate increased slightly in April to 4.4 percent, just above the national rate of 4.3 percent.

The six sectors with the largest estimated employment gains in April were: Health Care and Social Assistance (1,400 jobs); Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation (900 jobs); Wholesale Trade (500 jobs); Construction (500 jobs); Retail Trade (400 jobs); and Government (a net gain of 400 jobs due to a drop in federal employment of 100 jobs and a gain in state and local government of 500 jobs).

The four sectors with estimated employment losses in April were: Manufacturing (-1,000 jobs); Other Services (-700 jobs); Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (-100 jobs); and Management (-100 jobs).

Data is transferred to the Maryland Department of Labor’s website directly from BLS servers. For more immediate access to this month’s jobs data, visit the BLS website. Please visit the Maryland Department of Labor’s website to view the current employment situation.