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HoCo has always had a split personality when it comes to thebig cities to the north and south of us. Some cheer the Ravens and the Orioleswhile others root for the Nats and the Redskins. When traveling outside of the areaand asked where they’re from, some locos will say Baltimore while others will say DC.
As far as the Bureau of Labor Statistics is concerned however, HoCois part of Baltimore.That means job growth at Fort Meade gets attributed to the Baltimore Metropolitanarea as opposed to the Marylandsuburbs of DC.
Yesterday, in his column in The Washington Post, RobertMcCartney pointed out that job growth in “suburban Marylandis lagging far behind” that of Northern Virginia and Washington, DC.
“The contrast in jobs performance is dramatic. Here are thefigures on how many full-time jobs each jurisdiction added in the 12 monthsended in July, according to the Bureauof Labor Statistics:
Northern Virginia: 32,200jobs (a 2.4 percent increase);District of Columbia: 10,000 (up 1.4 percent);Suburban Maryland:1,400 (up less than one-fifth of 1 percent).”
In the very next paragraph he points that employment increases in HoCo and AA counties aren't included into the suburban Marylandnumbers.
“Those counties are gaining jobs as military intelligencefacilities expand in and around Fort Meade, just 28 miles from the White House — butthey’re counted as part of greater Baltimore.Northern Virginia includes counties such as Spotsylvania,more than 50 miles away.”
Now before you start railing about Marylandbeing overly dependent on federal spending remember that Northern Virginia and DC are just as dependent on those federal dollars weare, especially DC.
On the other hand, we could still stand to be a bit morebusiness-friendly in the Free State,even if we are solid blue.
“The fact is, Northern Virginia’sadvantage has been growing for years, and has been fostered by both Republicansand business-friendly Democrats.”
We just need more of those “business-friendly” Dems in Annapolis.