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Economic Indicators Show County Still Recovering from Pandemic

Montgomery County’s unemployment rate was 2.6% in March, which is .8% above March of 2023, according to The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation and Montgomery Planning.

Those two organizations issued a report on the state of the county’s employment during the first quarter of 2024. It covered resident labor force, employment, commercial real estate and venture capital.

Total employment is 7,400 higher than March of 2023, and total unemployment is up about 4,600. The total labor force is about 21,000 below March 2019, according to the report.

There were 552,953 workers in the labor force in March.

The highest growing occupation involved elementary school teachers. As of March, there were 5,706 elementary school teachers, who made an average of $91,700.

The three higher-paying occupations in the county involved general and operations managers (whose average salary is $157,500), managers in general, software developers and project management specialists.

Jobs in education — elementary school teachers and teaching assistants (except post-secondary) — showed the highest percentage growth among the 10 highest growing occupations, followed by restaurant cooks.

Jobs in scientific research and development rose the most during the first quarter of 2024, up almost 19% since 2019.

There were 5,100 waiters and waitresses who made on average $45,200 in the first quarter of the year, according to the report.

During the first three months, office vacancies were 1.4 percentage points above the same time last year. Retail vacancies were only .2 percentage points higher than the previous year.

Multifamily rental rates rose $55 a month this year. Office vacancy rates rose 1.4% to 18.2% in March, according to the report.

The median house sold for $590,000, which is up from 2023’s $535,300.

 

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