Employ Prince George’s presents local labor-market data; county unemployment at about 4.3%

Jeffrey Swilly, interim president and CEO of Employ Prince George’s, briefed the Education Workforce Development Committee on Feb. 23 about local labor-market conditions, the agency’s service model and available wraparound supports.

Swilly said the county’s unemployment rate had ticked up to roughly 4.3% compared with about 3.7% for the state of Maryland. He said the county still has more than 19,000 residents who have not reengaged with the job market since the pandemic and noted federal-sector layoffs and closures as partial contributors to recent increases in job-seeking registrants.

Employ Prince George’s operates a three-site American Job Center network (Largo, National Harbor and a Youth Career Center in Suitland) and a 300-member service network including community-based organizations, faith-based groups, education providers and employers. Jennifer Ricks, chief program officer, and Bernice Gonzales, director of program integrity and data administration, described wraparound supports offered to participants: transportation assistance (gas/public-transport support), supplies and professional attire, mental-health referrals, financial-literacy workshops and scholarships for occupational skills training.

Swilly said the workforce organization uses employer advisory councils and a local workforce-development board (60% industry representation) to gather near-term intelligence on skills needs and to commission listening sessions that informed a 2024 state-of-the-workforce report. He described employer-facing services — needs assessments, customized recruitment and prescreening — and said the agency prioritizes small- and mid-size local employers.

Committee members requested specific outcome metrics — counts of participants in priority programs, usage of wraparound services and placement rates — and staff agreed to provide those figures as a follow-up. The committee adjourned after requesting the data.