Frederick County data show low unemployment but big share of residents not in labor force; aging population raises healthcare staffing concerns

Michelle Day, director of Workforce Services for Frederick County, presented a workforce snapshot at the Investing in Workers & Workplaces advisory group meeting on May 21, saying the county's population was 306,919 as of February 2024 and the unemployment rate was about 2.7%. She emphasized that unemployment figures count only people actively seeking work.

Ms. Day told the advisory group that labor-force participation stood near 56%, which she said leaves roughly 105,000 residents who are not working and are not actively looking for employment. She and other staff attributed part of that gap to pandemic-era early retirements and described ongoing questions about how to connect latent labor supply to employer needs.

The presentation also outlined commuting patterns, with a sizable portion of workers traveling into Frederick from Washington, Montgomery and Howard counties, and summarized employment by industry, noting that government is the largest local employer followed by retail and health. Advisory members flagged that the county's growing 65-and-older population will increase demand across the healthcare sector and may create shortages at multiple levels of care.

Denis Superczynski, who presented population forecasts and housing-pipeline mapping, linked demographic trends to workforce planning, and advisory members asked Economic Opportunity staff to provide more detailed information on employer requests and specific skills gaps at a future meeting. Beth Woodring offered to provide additional employer and site-selection information at the next advisory meeting.

The advisory group did not take formal actions on staffing or training programs during the session; presenters said additional analysis and stakeholder outreach are planned before any policy recommendations are made. The meeting adjourned at 4:00 PM.