Economists view recessions as national events. However, past recessions have shown that some states’ economies continued to expand during a recession—particularly when the national recession was relatively mild. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s state coincident indexes (SCIs) can be used to assess whether recession-like conditions have developed in each of the states. In October 2022, 27 states had negative growth in the SCI, which is an indicator that the U.S. may be tipping into a recession.
When it comes to jobs, Maryland is still lagging around the rest of the country in its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The areas of the state that have had the most trouble bouncing back are the D.C suburbs. Of the 50,000 lost jobs in Maryland, 31,000 of them are in the southern part of the state. Industries including leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and utilities, and education and health services have seen the most jobs lost.
The lost jobs, according to Adam Scavette, regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, are due to a few specific industries as well as a slow recovery in the counties around Washington D.C.
