County's Unemployment Rate Drops

The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation reports that Montgomery County’s unemployment rate for April was 3.3%. That's  down from 3.5% in March. 

Unemployment Rate Drops from Same Period Last Year

According to the Department of Labor, Montgomery County's employment rate in August was only 3.8 percent – down from 4.6 percent last August. Almost 10,000 more County residents had jobs compared to the year before.

County Unemployment Rate Drops

Montgomery County's unemployment rate has dropped to below 4 percent for the first time since the recession. The unemployment for April (the most recent data available) is 3.7 percent. The last time we had a rate this low was November 2008.

Census Bureau to Add 1,000 Temporary Jobs in Montgomery County

Here's the press release:

The U.S. Census Bureau is committed to making the next nationwide census in 2020 quick, easy and safe for all to participate, regardless of how residents choose to respond -- via the Internet, telephone or traditional paper questionnaires.

As part of this commitment to find better and more economical ways for collecting data, the bureau will conduct a 2014 Census Test this summer that will allow the agency, on a small scale, to test a variety of new methods and advance technologies that are being considered for the 2020 Census. The bureau has chosen Montgomery County and the District of Columbia in which to conduct the test, which will take place from June 23 through September 25.

County Executive Ike Leggett said, “I am proud that the U.S. Census Bureau has selected Montgomery County, along with the District, to be a testing ground for their effort to reduce the cost to taxpayers while improving delivery of and response to the next national Census in 2020. We were selected primarily because of the high response from County residents to the 2010 Census, so I am optimistic that we will respond in the same way to the test this summer.”

A temporary Local Census Office (LCO) will open on Monday, April 28 in Silver Spring at 8401 Colesville Rd. (seventh floor). The bureau is hiring 1,000 people for temporary field staff positions that pay from $18 per hour for enumerators and crew leaders’ assistants to $20 an hour for crew leaders. Persons hired as crew leaders will begin July 2, while the assistants and enumerators will start on July 21.

Find information online about how to apply or for more information and to schedule for testing, call 1-888-480-1639.

MBDC Gets Grant for Healthcare Workers Training Program

The Montgomery Business Development Corporation is at it again, this time winning a grant award for a business-led training initiative for healthcare workers. Nice work, MBDC. Here’s the press release:

ROCKVILLE, Md., January 9, 2014—The Montgomery Business Development Corporation (MBDC), which was created three years ago by the County Council, this week announced it will receive a grant award from the Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) Maryland program for a first of its kind, business-led training program for healthcare workers.

MBDC’s proposed Healthcare Workers: Rx for Employability initiative will convene a health care sector partnership as part of EARN Maryland, a state-funded competitive workforce and economic development grant initiative created in 2013. Under the leadership of Governor Martin O’Malley and Leonard Howie, secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR), EARN Maryland is the state’s first skills training and economic development program of this type.

The Healthcare Workers Rx for Employability partnership proposed by MBDC will focus on the healthcare industry’s business leadership and is designed for flexibility and collaboration.

“We are fortunate in Montgomery County to have some of the County’s most prominent and innovative business representatives working with us to advance our shared economic development goals,” said County Councilmember Nancy Floreen, who chairs the Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee.  “MBDC and its partners are poised to make a difference in Montgomery County generally, and with this project, specifically.  It is great that the organization received this grant award, and I’m confident it will do great things with it.”

MBDC, the lead applicant for the grant, brings unique connections with both the business community and public agencies. Working in collaboration with the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, MBDC’s mission is to provide engagement and a platform for the private business community in economic development and policy decisions. The health care industry is a major employer in Montgomery County and MBDC has been active in developing partnerships and outreach with workforce and training entities to support this industry. MBDC will oversee and facilitate the implementation of a structured collaborative action plan.

EARN Maryland is based on a successful national model. Among similar initiatives around the country, this approach led to skills advancement, career building opportunities and increased wages. Sector strategies are among the few interventions with a growing body of evidence showing improved employment opportunities and wages for workers as well as increased productivity and other positive outcomes for employers.

County Job Growth up from 2010

According to our Department of Economic Development, employment in Montgomery County between 2010 and 2012 grew by nearly 25,000 jobs - from 631,154 jobs in 2010 to 655,824 jobs in 2012. That represents a 3.9 percent job growth rate. During the same period, job growth in Fairfax City and County was 3.6 percent and the District of Columbia was 2.8 percent. The Department used data provided by Economic Modeling Specialists Intl.

The County’s top job-gaining sector was professional, scientific and technical services, which added almost 5,300 jobs from 2010 to 2012. The other top growing sectors were government, retail trade, and health care and social assistance, each adding over 3,000 jobs during the three year period.

Contributing to the County’s increase in jobs were several Top 50 employers. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, with four offices in Rockville, added nearly 330 jobs, the most of the Top 50 employers. Just behind them was Capital One, adding almost 300 jobs, followed by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and MedImmune, which each added more than 200 jobs.

Employment Assistance Symposium November 16

Getting our residents back to work has been a top priority for me since the beginning of the recession. Job hunters face real challenges in today’s economy, but opportunities still exist, and I am excited to partner with People-4-People to help residents tap into new ways of finding success.

Register now for the People-4-People Employment Assistance Program at a Faith-based and Neighborhood Partners Job Clubs Symposium on Friday, Nov. 16, where I’m pleased to be a guest speaker. The event is free to the public, but pre-registration is requested. The event will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville. The symposium will run from 1 to 4 p.m.

You can learn how to start an employment program in your community and about resources that are available to job seekers. Panelists will include local job club and ministry leaders, faith and community leaders, workforce development officials, nonprofit leaders and others who are assisting job seekers and workers. Panelists will share job club models. We also look forward to hearing from Ben Seigel, deputy director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Parking is available in the visitors’ garage behind the building, or it is a short walk from the Rockville Metro. Seating is limited. Register online or contact Angela Cooper at 301-989-4673 ext. 1245 or acooper@immanuels.org.

Start Warming up Your Business Pitch Now

Make a four-minute pitch about your business and meet with venture capitalists, angel investors and other leaders of the innovation economy at the Pitch Across Maryland Competition. Videos of the pitches will be uploaded to a social networking wesite and available for public voting on the best pitch in one of many categories. The eight companies with the highest score become the Great 8 and qualify for a month of coaching in preparation of a live pitch event.

The Montgomery County Department of Economic Development is partnering with Startup Maryland, a regional initiative of the Startup America Partnership, which initiated this state-wide startup tour and business pitch competition with a two-week bus tour across the state. The bus tour culminates in an afternoon celebration of entrepreneurship at the Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Catch the bus in Montgomery County:

~ Monday, September 24, 12:30-4:00 at the Bethesda Green Incubator
~ Tuesday, September 25, 9:30-11:30 at the William E. Hanna, Jr., Business Innovation Center at Shady Grove
~ Friday, September 28, 9:00-11:30 at the Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference—Montgomery County Conference Center

White House Wants Our Perspective on Job Growth

We need all hands on deck to move our economic development agenda forward. Federal, state and local governments must work together, and I’m glad to have been invited to be a part of these important conversations at the White House on September 19 as a representative for the National Association of Counties.

The special, invitation-only forum titled “Building Blocks for Economic Development and Job Growth” will focus on the role of the public sector in making strategic investments to support private sector job creation and economic opportunity. The goal of the event is to bring together senior White House and agency officials with regional development organization leaders and county officials to highlight noteworthy practices across the nation.

The event will include updates from senior administration officials and group discussions about specific topics and lessons learned. It will also showcase local communities that are partnering with federal and state officials, plus the philanthropic and private sectors, to make the investments needed for the future.

I will share details about the critical role Montgomery and other counties play in economic development and job creation with senior White House and agency officials.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will attend the event, along with representatives from the White House Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council, the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

March Unemployment Rate Down Slightly

We’re making slow but steady progress on our unemployment rate. Montgomery County’s March unemployment rate, just announced, was 5.0 percent. That’s down from 5.1 percent in February. Our unemployment remains well below the national average and shows a nice drop from our January 2010 rate, which spiked to 6.2 percent. We still have a way to go, though, to get back to our November 2007 rate of 2.5 percent.

Free Job Tips Workshops at Libraries

Getting Montgomery County residents back to work is my top priority, so I want to alert you to free workshops featuring job tips to be held at Montgomery County Public Libraries.

Information will include how to expand contacts and how to more successfully market yourself. Also included will be the “Do’s and Don’ts of Your Resume” and the Keys to Mastering the Interview Process.”

Workshops will be held at the Quince Orchard Library on January 11 and February 8. They will be held at the Rockville Library on January 13 and February 10. All workshops will be from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Thanks to the Jewish Social Services Agency’s (JSSA) Employment and Career Services for these workshops. To register, call 301-610-8380.