The unemployment rate in HoCo currently stands at 5.5%, down
slightly from the same period last year and still significantly below the
national rate (8.1%). During the same period of time the total number of jobs
in the county rose 4.3% to 159,503.
These numbers were reported in the September 2012 issue of
Howard County Maryland Economic Indicators, a joint publication of the Howard County
HoCo also experienced a slight drop in office space vacancy
from 13.9% to 13.8% which occurred in spite of an additional half million
square feet being added to the market. HoCo now has over 11.5
million square feet of office space.
Other loco economic highlights include a 7.5% increase in personal income
tax receipts and a 93.7% increase in Planning and Zoning fees, though building
permits declined 16.9% from the same period last year.
It’s been a good year so far for HoCo agriculture too with
soybean and corn expected to produce record crops. “Beef milk and bread prices
are expected to increase in the long term due to increases in feed prices
resulting from the Midwestern drought.”
This release of this report comes at the same time we learn
that HoCo remains one of the top ten richest counties in the country. Seven of
the nations richest counties are in the DC metro area, with HoCo in the number
5 spot, down two places from last year. According
to this story by Carol Morello in The Washington Post, “Maryland has the nation’s highest household income level,
and Virginia
is ninth.”
“The rankings in the 2011 American Community Survey released
Thursday expand Washington ’s
dominance among high-income households, reflecting a regional economy that was
largely cushioned as the recession yanked down income levels elsewhere.
Household incomes rose in most counties around Washington last year, even as they continued
to sink around the country.”
