Despite Prince George鈥檚 County鈥檚 deep ties to the federal government and higher education sectors, local leaders say those same dependencies are now exposing vulnerabilities in the region鈥檚 labor market.
The unemployment rate is higher and there are 23,000 fewer jobs in Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, right now compared to 2019 before the COVID pandemic.
鈥淲e are heavily reliant on federal government for jobs in our county, and then we’re also heavily reliant on post secondary education,鈥� said Walter Simmons, president and CEO of Employ Prince George鈥檚.
He spoke to a county council committee on Monday.
鈥淧ost secondary education is heavily reliant on federal government funding,鈥� Simmons said.
That may have helped during the pandemic, when the government was a source of stability, but that鈥檚 not the case anymore.
鈥淥n average, you would see 100 to 250 unemployment claimants per week. We’ve seen them jump up to 300 to 500, but then you also see it go back down,鈥� Simmons told 海角精品黑料 after the briefing.
鈥淭he scare is, is that unemployment data is based on where the person worked. So Maryland also isn’t getting all of the people that have been laid off in their place of work that鈥檚 a D.C. agency, where the agency is in D.C. So while we aren’t seeing it, that doesn’t mean the numbers don’t exist in larger numbers, we just don’t have access to it,鈥� he added.
Simmons said more regional cooperation and data sharing would offer an even clearer picture of the true situation. But he also expressed confidence that laid off federal workers will be able to bounce back 鈥� though he didn鈥檛 say it would be seamless.
鈥淭he hardest part that we’ve seen is the realization that most likely, there could be a pay decrease for that exact same job when you transition 鈥� when you take that job and move from the federal government to the private sector or the federal government to local government,鈥� Simmons said.
Simmons said federal workers are skilled, qualified and have the experience.
鈥淭hey are going to be easily attractive to private sector employers,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he big thing that we’re going to work out is are they going to be willing to take that pay scale?鈥�
Simmons also said the county鈥檚 youth unemployment rate 鈥� defined as any worker 24 and under 鈥� is also significantly higher than the national average. In county council districts 4, 5, 7 and 9, the youth unemployment rate is over 12%. In District 6, it鈥檚 22%.
There are a myriad of reasons for it, but a lot of it has to do with education. For kids of school age, too many aren鈥檛 showing up to class. Those who are out of school might lack required literacy and math skills 鈥� in some cases because they aren鈥檛 native English speakers.
He said he believes other social factors also influence that.
鈥淲e have community problems that are systemic. They’ve been around for 50 years, and we’re working to address them,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his didn’t happen over one day, and it’s not going to be fixed in one day.鈥�
Simmons also said they need to boost enrollment in career and technical education programs around the county. Nonprofit groups with expertise in that area are also contributing to the work of turning things around.
鈥淲e have not only identified the strategies, identified funding, and now we’re going through implementation,鈥� he said.
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