Jobs in services, computers, health care biggest gainers in Maryland since the Great Recession

Since the Great Recession, jobs and wages in Maryland have grown and unemployment has declined, most recently to 4 percent in July. But the state’s labor market also has been transformed during the recovery.

A slowdown in manufacturing and construction has caused significant job losses in those sectors, while service-oriented and health-related jobs increased.

More lower-wage than middle-wage jobs are being created. And employers are struggling to fill vacancies requiring specialized skills and increasingly turning to automation.

“The recovery has been OK and created all these jobs, but the types of jobs haven’t been what they were prior to the recession,” said Daraius Irani, an economist who is vice president of Towson University’s division of innovation and applied research. “The number of jobs with low wages created post-recession far exceeds the number in middle-income that were created,” reflecting layoffs where jobs have not returned.

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