Maryland’s unemployment rate rose to 9.9% in April, setting a new record after the state lost 349,300 jobs during the month due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The data released by the Department of Labor on Friday shows the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the state’s economy. April was the first full month of business closures under Gov. Larry Hogan’s stay-at-home order.
Previously, the historical high for the unemployment rate in Maryland was 8.5% in March 1982, according to the Labor Department. More than 600,000 Marylanders have filed unemployment insurance claims since the pandemic began. The job losses wipe out all of the gains since Gov. Larry Hogan took office in January 2015.
More than a third of the job losses, 120,000, were in the leisure and hospitality industry as restaurants and hotels suffered dramatic losses amid closures. Many bars and restaurants are expected to permanently shutter.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Holden Wilen over at the Washington Post