The number of Montgomery County residents who filed initial claims for unemployment during the week that ended Sept. 19 dropped by more than half from the previous week.
Only 695 county residents filed initial unemployment claims during the previous week, according to the Maryland Department of Labor. During the week that ended Sept. 12, 1,252 residents filed had initial unemployment claims.
Statewide, the number of initial filers continued to fall. During the week that ended Sept. 19, 9,185 residents filed initial unemployment claims. During the week ending Sept. 12, 13,575 people had filed initial claims. During the week that ended on Sept. 5, 11,324 Marylanders filed initial claims.
According to the Maryland Department of Labor, Montgomery County’s unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in August. In July, it was 8.2 percent. Calvert and Caroline counties had the lowest unemployment rates in the state. Both counties’ rates were 5.9 percent in August.
Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in August and 7.8 percent in July.
