WIOA State Plan Common Elements

B) Economic Analysis

In 2018, Maryland’s real GDP increased by 2.5 percent, continuing a trend of steady economic growth over the past decade. This success was shared broadly; of Maryland’s 18 major industries, 17 experienced growth. Professional, scientific, and technical services; manufacturing; and information drove the bulk of growth in Maryland’s GDP in 2018. Combined, these industries accounted for 61.5 percent of annual growth. In the same period, the United States’ GDP grew at a rate of 2.9 percent. The management of companies and enterprises industry also shone brightly, leading all industries with an 11 percent annual growth rate.  The table below shows the size and growth rate for each of Maryland’s major industries (sectors representing at least one percent of the state’s GDP) in 2018. 

Table: Industry GDP and growth rate

Notes: GDP is reported in millions of chained 2012 U.S. dollars. 

Maryland’s economy is relatively insulated from exposure to international trade, but it is also an area of growing strength.  State industries accounted for 0.7 percent of total US exports in 2018. The state’s $12.1 billion in exports represents a 29.9 percent growth over the prior year.

Buoyed by broad economic growth, Maryland’s labor force saw a number of gains.  In 2018, Maryland’s unemployment rate continued to trend down.  At a 3.9 percent unemployment rate, more Marylanders had jobs than ever before.  The 3.07 million employed in 2018 represented an increase in the average employment level of nearly 14,000 individuals over the prior year, and a 7.6 percent decrease in the number of unemployed. 

Employment in the education services industry rose the fastest of all industries in 2018, with a 4.6 percent annual growth.  The health care and social assistance industry added the most jobs with 7,900 jobs added during the year.  The table below gives the employment level (in thousands of jobs) and annual growth rate by industry, excluding the farming industry, which is not tracked, and industries employing less than one percent of the population. 

Table: Employment by industry, annual average

Note: employment reported in thousands of jobs.  Only non-farm industries with employment of at least one percent of workforce included.

With fewer individuals looking for jobs in 2018, businesses worked harder to fill vacancies, and incomes also rose.  The median household income in Maryland rose by over $4,000 dollars from 2017 to 2018 (inflation adjusted), a 5.0 percent increase.  At $86,000, the state ranks second among all states for median household income. 

Amidst a historically long period of steady economic expansion, a variety of industries and occupations in Maryland have growing needs for a talented workforce.  The following sections divide these industries and occupations into two categories: existing and emerging in-demand areas. 

Existing in-demand areas are defined as growing industries and occupations that make up a relatively large share of the economy and workforce, compared to the U.S. as a whole.  These areas represent places where Maryland is already strong and becoming stronger.  Emerging in-demand areas are defined as growing industries and occupations that make up a small share of the workforce, relative to the US.  Emerging in-demand areas have relatively low employment but are becoming a more significant part of the state’s economy.

(i) Existing Demand Industry Sectors and Occupations. Provide an analysis of the industries and occupations for which there is existing demand.

Maryland’s existing in-demand industries

In 2018, Maryland businesses added 19,100 new jobs. The healthcare and social assistance industry sector saw the largest gain, adding 7,900 jobs. Other industry sectors posting strong gains included Educational services (4,100) and Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services (3,100).

While the composition of Maryland’s economy remained largely the same from 2017 to 2018, the share of GDP attributed to the government sector decreased from 20.0 percent to 19.7 percent.  Professional, scientific, and technical services increased its share of Maryland’s GDP by 0.3 percentage points from 10.4 percent to 10.7 percent.

Eighteen Maryland industries are classified as existing in-demand industries using the growth in private employment and a measure of industry concentration in 2018. The largest of these industries was Professional and technical services, which employed 252,292 workers in 2018, a growth of 2.0 percent over the previous year. The fastest growing of the existing in-demand industries was Warehousing and storage after an 18.8 percent expansion in employment.

Industries with growth in employment and a higher than average employment concentration within Maryland are considered existing in-demand industries.  The table below lists existing in-demand industries with employment above 10,000 in 2018.  Location Quotient (LQ) is used to measure industry concentration and help determine whether an industry is an existing in-demand industry.  At the state level, LQ is defined as the share of Maryland employment in a particular industry to the national share of employment in that industry.  A higher LQ indicates that an industry is a relatively larger share of Maryland’s economy compared to the U.S. economy.

Table: Existing in-demand industries

Source: Quarterly census of employment and wages, and calculations by MD Labor.

Regional existing in-demand industries

Maryland’s Local Areas have historically entered into agreements wherein they developed regions and produced plans to regionally target various industry sectors. Maryland’s workforce areas include:

• Anne Arundel County;
• Baltimore City;
• Baltimore County;
• Frederick County;
• Lower Shore (made up of Wicomico, Somerset, and Worcester Counties);
• Mid-Maryland (made up of Carroll and Howard Counties);
• Montgomery County;
• Prince George's County;
• Southern Maryland (made up of Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's Counties);
• Susquehanna (made up of Harford and Cecil Counties);
• Upper Shore (made up of Kent, Queen Anne's, Talbot, Caroline, and Dorchester Counties); and
• Western Maryland (made up of Garrett, Allegany, and Washington Counties).

Based on a variety of considerations described in the next section of this plan, the State has designated regions as follows:

• Western - The Western region is comprised of the Western Maryland Local Area. This Local Area is comprised of Maryland’s three most western counties: Garrett, Allegany, and Washington.
• Capital - The Capital region includes three Local Areas: Prince George’s, Montgomery and Frederick. All three are located along the Washington, D.C. corridor.
• Central - The Central region is comprised of five Local Areas: Anne Arundel, Mid-Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and Susquehanna.
• Southern - The Southern region is comprised of the Southern Maryland Local Area. That Local Area is comprised of Calvert, Saint Mary’s, and Charles Counties.
• Eastern Shore - The Eastern Shore region is comprised of two Local Areas: Upper Shore and Lower Shore.

Using the growth in private employment from 2017 to 2018 in combination with LQs greater than one, 16 existing in-demand industries were identified in the Capital region, 25 in the Central region, 22 in the Eastern Shore region, 12 in the Southern Maryland region, and 18 in the Western Maryland region. The following tables (Tables 3a-3e) show existing in-demand industries for each region that make up more than 0.25 percent of the region’s employment.

The largest growth industry in the Capital region is Professional and technical services, employing 101,492 workers after growing at a rate of 1.2 percent from 2017 to 2018. In the Central region, Administrative and support services grew by 0.4 percent to employ 89,562 workers in 2018. 8,292 workers were employed in Ambulatory health care services, the Eastern Shore’s largest growth industry. Professional and technical services was also the largest growth industry in Southern Maryland, with 12,145 workers in 2018. The largest Western Maryland growth industry was Credit intermediation and related activities with 5,968 workers, an expansion of 18.9 percent over 2017.

Table:  Existing in-demand industries – Capital Region

Table:  Existing in-demand industries – Central Region

Table:  Existing in-demand industries – Eastern Shore Region

Table:  Existing in-demand industries – Southern Maryland Region

Table:  Existing in-demand industries – Western Maryland Region

Maryland’s existing in-demand occupations

Based on Maryland’s occupational employment growth from 2016 to 2018 and a measure of the State’s occupational concentration, 12 major occupational clusters are in demand. Management jobs lead the list.  With a significant concentration of employment within the state (163,380 employed; 1.2 LQ), high median wage ($118,442), and rapid employment growth (3.6 percent from 2016 to 2018), managers are experiencing high and growing demand.  Most other existing in-demand occupations require some type of STEM background.  With high wages and employment growth, these occupations represent significant opportunities for workers with the proper training and areas where companies are experiencing growing demand.

Occupational demand cannot be measured directly with available data.  However, similar to existing in-demand industries, emerging in-demand occupations are defined as occupations with positive growth in employment and a higher than average employment concentration within Maryland.  The table below lists existing in-demand occupations in 2018.  LQ is used to measure occupation concentration and help determine whether an occupation is an existing in-demand occupation.  At the state level, LQ is defined as the share of Maryland employment in a particular occupation to the national share of employment in that occupation. A higher LQ indicates that an occupation is performed by a relatively larger share of Maryland’s workforce compared to the U.S. workforce. 

Table: Maryland’s existing in-demand occupations

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational and employment statistics.

(ii) Emerging Demand Industry Sectors and Occupations. Provide an analysis of the industries and occupations for which demand is emerging.

Maryland’s emerging in-demand industries

Maryland’s diverse and growing economy supports the development of many emerging in-demand industries.  In complement to the existing in-demand industries in the previous section, industries with positive 2018 growth in employment and a lower employment concentration within Maryland are considered emerging in-demand industries.  Thirty-two industries meet this definition, led by the food service and drinking places industry, which employed 206,248 individuals in 2018.  Other notable emerging in-demand industries include merchant wholesalers of nondurable goods, which saw a 10.1 percent increase in employment compared to 2017, and the management of companies and enterprises industry, which, despite being a relatively small share of Maryland’s economy, saw employment grow by 6.5 percent in 2018. 

The table below lists existing in-demand industries with employment above 5,000 in 2018.  LQ is used to measure industry concentration and help determine whether an industry is an emerging in-demand industry.  At the state level, an industry LQ is defined as the share of Maryland employment in the industry compared to the national share of employment in that industry.  A lower LQ indicates that an industry is a relatively smaller share of Maryland’s economy compared to the U.S. economy.

Table:  Emerging in-demand industries

Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, calculations by MD Labor.

Regional emerging in-demand industries

Using the growth in private employment from 2017 to 2018 in combination with the LQs less than or equal to one, 19 emerging industries were identified in the Capital region, 29 in the Central region, 17 in the Eastern Shore region, and 11 each in the Southern Maryland and Western Maryland Regions.

The following tables list these industries that also employ more than a 0.25 percent of the respective region’s workforce.  In the Capital region, the largest of these industries was Hospitals with a 2018 employment level of 20,838 workers. It grew at a rate of 0.6 percent from 2017 to 2018. Professional and technical services was the largest industry in the Central Region with 2018 employment of 119,300 workers after a growth of 1.5 percent from 2017. Hospitals was also the largest emerging industry on the Eastern Shore, with 5,898 workers in 2018. In Southern Maryland, Ambulatory health care services employed 5,335 workers in 2018, making it the largest of the emerging industries in this region. 3,100 people worked in the Specialty Trade contractors, the largest emerging industry in the Western Maryland region.

Table:  Emerging in-demand industries – Central Region

Table:  Emerging in-demand industries – Capital Region

Table:  Emerging in-demand industries – Eastern Shore Region

Table:  Emerging in-demand industries – Southern Region

Table:  Emerging in-demand industries – Western Region

Maryland’s emerging in-demand occupations

Using the occupational growth from 2016 to 2018 in combination with LQ less than or equal to one, nine major occupation clusters were identified for Maryland. While experiencing strong employment growth, these occupations tend to be relatively lower paying compared to the state’s median wage.  Personal care and service occupations grew at 5.4 percent, the fastest rate among emerging in-demand occupations, it was the occupation that also added the most employment adding 13,550 workers between 2016 and 2018.

In complement to existing in-demand occupations, emerging in-demand occupations are defined as occupations with positive growth in employment and relatively low employment concentration within Maryland.  The table below lists emerging in-demand occupations in 2018.  LQ is used to measure occupation concentration and help determine whether an occupation is an existing in-demand occupation.  At the state level, LQ is defined as the share of Maryland employment in a particular occupation to the national share of employment in that occupation.  A lower LQ indicates that an occupation is performed by a relatively smaller share of Maryland’s workforce compared to the U.S. workforce. 

Table: Maryland’s emerging in-demand occupations

(iii) Employers’ Employment Needs. With regard to the industry sectors and occupations identified in (A)(i) and (ii), provide an assessment of the employment needs of employers, including a description of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required, including credentials and licenses.

Maryland’s employers posted more than 900,000 jobs online in 2018.  With 102,643 job openings posted, health care practitioner occupations were the most recruited occupational cluster.  Computer and mathematical occupations (100,554) and management occupations (73,260) were the next most sought after.  These numbers are on par with jobs postings from previous years. The table below lists the occupations most frequently recruited via online job advertisements in 2018. This data comes from the Maryland Workforce Exchange (MWE) and includes job postings to all major job boards, such as Monster.com and Indeed.

Table: Top advertised job openings by occupation

The most desired certifications in online job postings include several used in health care practitioner occupations, two for IT occupations, one for transportation occupations, and one for business and financial services.  The table below lists these most frequently requested.

Table: Top certification group by 2018 advertised job openings

Job openings are available for a range of education levels. The table below lists the 15 occupation/school education level combinations with the greatest number of job openings in 2018. For example, the most frequently posted occupation/education combination was for computer and mathematical jobs postings that required a bachelor’s degree.  Of these 15 most frequently recruited occupation/education groups, four have no minimum education requirements, six required a high school diploma or equivalent, and five requested at least a bachelor’s degree to qualify for a job.  Note that professional credentials and certifications are not considered in determining these groups.  So while there were 7,207 jobs posted for healthcare practitioners with no minimum education requirement, many of those job postings likely required some set of formal certifications. 

Table: Job postings for occupational group at specified education level

Note: Education requirements are distinct from certification, professional or experience requirements.  These other requirements are not considered in this table.

In addition to formal educational credentials and professional certifications, Maryland businesses often cite a weakness in soft skills as an additional challenge in recruiting new hires that can succeed in their job.  The table below lists skills associated with some of the most recruited occupations that may not be well measured by education of certification credentials.

Table: Occupational Skill Needs