The Least Worst

 For those of us who continue to struggle through a weak economy there is some comfort in knowing that it could be worse. According to this story by Lindsey McPerson in Explore Howard, Anirban Basu recently described the HoCo loco economy as the “least worst, and least worse of course is the new excellent…”

While the HoCo unemployment rate is the lowest in the state, we are still feeling the effects from the slowdown in government spending.

 “More problematic for Howard County, he said, is that the Washington metropolitan region, which is largely tied to federal government employment, has only added 5,600 jobs in the past year. Basu said the shrinking of the government sector is not good for income growth or the housing market in the area.”  

Fortunately, a couple of HoCo loco private sector businesses are picking up some of the slack. In this article by Danielle Douglas in Capital Business, Columbia based Micro Systems and Medstar Health were both singled out for adding jobs in 2011.

“Micros Systems in Columbia is one company that added jobs. It brought on 23 new, local employees in the past year, boosting its headcount to 1,016. The company, which provides the hospitality industry with cash registers and computer applications for back-office functions, is projecting revenue north of $1.1 billion this year, a 10 percent increase over the prior year.”

“MedStar Health, a Columbia-based regional health care provider, grew its local employee roster by 25 percent to 15,559 people. The company manages a network of nine hospitals and 20 other health-related businesses in the area, including Washington Hospital Center and Good Samaritan Hospital.”