State's Professional & Business Services sector remains strong

The professional and business services industrial sector is an important sector in the economy because it includes economic activities that assist and enable other sectors to conduct operations. In addition, many of its jobs are filled by highly paid, highly skilled workers of the type that will likely be in very high demand nationwide once the economy recovers. This sector consists of three main categories:

• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Management of Companies and Enterprises
• Administrative, Support, Waste Management and Remediation services

Maryland has a significant comparative siting advantage in this employment category. Professional & Business Services accounts for 15.5 percent of all nonfarm employment in Maryland, second among states, right behind Virginia (with 17.5 percent) and the District of Columbia (with 21.6 percent). The national average is 12.9 percent.

Because of the key role that this industry sector plays in the economy, the state’s high concentration of employment and economic potential in this sector positions the state well to benefit from the increased need for business services that the country will experience after the recession has bottomed out and the recovery has gained momentum.

In addition, Maryland’s advantage compared to the nation continues to grow. Maryland employment in this category fell by 0.3 percent between June 2008 and June 2009, compared to a 6.9 percent loss for the nation [Table 3]. In addition, Maryland’s 0.3 percent rate of loss ranks the state second best in the country, behind Alaska, which was the only state to add jobs in this category during the period at 0.4 percent rate.

Return to index