The unemployment rate in Maryland fell to 6 percent in October, even as job creation remained sluggish.
Maryland employers added an estimated 1,400 jobs in October, up about 1 percent since September, according to estimates released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The BLS monthly survey of households reported a sunnier picture, with the number of unemployed falling by about 9,500. That drop — and a continued contraction in the number of people seeking work — helped drive down the unemployment rate from 6.3 percent in September to 6 percent last month.
Maryland's jobless rate remains higher than the national average of 5.8 percent.
"I don't see an end to clouds on the horizon, but it's certainly good news," Richard Clinch, a Maryland-based research economist at the Battelle Memorial Institute, said of the household numbers. But, he added, "I've seen nothing in the change in the dynamics in Maryland that we're out of the doldrums yet."
The BLS revised down its estimate of new jobs for September to 1,600 from 2,800. Since the start of 2014, Maryland employers have added about 8,700 jobs, with growth in the private sector offset by a decline in government payrolls.
In October, the professional and business services sector — a category that includes administration, government contractors and technology positions — showed the most significant growth, adding 2,600 jobs. Retail was also a strong performer, adding 1,600 jobs — a sign that holiday hiring may have already started, Clinch said.
The most significant job losses last month came from the public sector, which shed 2,500 positions, while the financial activities sector, which includes real estate, rental and leasing, reported losses of 1,300 jobs.
Some of the discrepancy between the two BLS surveys may reflect people commuting to jobs in other jurisdictions, such as Washington, Clinch said. New businesses also can be left out of the survey, he said.
Andrew Davis, an economist for Moody's Analytics, said he expects to see hiring remain fairly flat, picking up in the first three months of next year. That could bring the unemployment rate up, as more people enter the labor force looking for work.
"Overall the labor market, it's not going gangbusters, but it's improving," he said. "It should be improving enough to draw those that were kind of on the fringe of the labor market."