Virginia hammered Maryland in job growth once again in January 2025. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Virginia added 7,100 jobs in January, while Maryland only created 4,900. The BLS also revised Virginia's numbers from December upward, with the Old Dominion's jobs-added figure rising from 4,900 to 14,200. Maryland had infamously only gained a paltry 200 jobs in December.
“More Virginians are working than ever in the Commonwealth as jobs and opportunity continue to expand in Virginia,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a statement Tuesday. “In January, the Commonwealth added 7,100 nonfarm jobs, building on the upwardly revised job gains in December. This performance underscores the success of our pro-business policies and our ongoing focus on workforce development, which are providing Virginia companies the talent they need to grow and Virginians with the opportunities to succeed.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Virginia added 7,100 jobs in January, while Maryland only created 4,900.
ReplyDeleteVirginia’s population is 8.8 million; Maryland’s is 6.3 million.
Virginia’s population is 1.4 times that of Maryland. And guess what - that job growth has that exact same ratio - 1.4 to 1.
5:47/6:03/8:15/8:38: I already debunked this argument last month. There are many other states where the jobs added number is not a reflection of population size. Virginia beats Maryland soundly under any formulation.
DeleteYou must realize that the population of VA is 8.8 M and MD is 6.2 M, so VA has a 41% larger population. So per capita, the job growth is about the same in January at least.
ReplyDelete"Virginia ended January with 25,282 more jobs than a year ago. The year-over-year gain in Maryland was 17,415."
ReplyDeleteVA population: 8.81m
MD population: 6.26m
You're too busy hating Maryland to realize it and your vaunted VA have the same exact freaking job growth rate. I mean you honestly could not sound less educated on this topic if you tried.
VA adding 2800 jobs per million residents: wow, how spectacular is that!
ReplyDeleteMD adding 2800 jobs per million residents: what a garbage, moribund trainwreck!
VA 3% unemployment rate: Youngkin is a god!
MD 3% unemployment rate: why did Moore ruin everything?!
YAWN! in other news........
ReplyDeleteIt looks like at least four of your readers agree that you should not try to directly compare Virginia and Maryland because they have much different population sizes. Virginia does clearly not beat Maryland in this per capita comparison. You must admit that you certainly try to emphasize the dark side of Maryland and especially MoCo’s economy.
ReplyDelete7:06: They're likely the same person. There's very little light side to MoCo's economy or Maryland's. Excluding federal largess, which is also enjoyed by Virginia, there's little else besides biotech (heavily subsidized by tax breaks) and residential housing construction. There is almost universal agreement that MoCo and Maryland's economies are moribund. Even Wes Moore admits it.
DeleteI already pointed out that some states with bigger populations failed to create as many jobs as Virginia when this novel argument was first used last month. Job growth is not determined by population size. Period.
Everyone keeps comparing population #s b/n MD and VA. The real comparison is working age population 18-55. Many of Va’s working age population are USN out of Norfolk and other DoD.
ReplyDelete5:47/6:03/8:15/8:38/10:20/7:06 Are all the same MC staffer paid to discredit any information outside the "statistics" they've approved.
ReplyDeleteThe 30,000ft view of MD isn't good and they know it but there are lies, dammed lies and statistics. Does well for the ignorant and apathetic voter base that put them in office.
Dyer is engaging in “Proof By Assertion” once again. When the facts aren’t on your side, shout louder.
ReplyDelete4:59: The facts are on my side. States with bigger populations than Virginia have created less jobs in a month than Virginia. The idea that population size determines the number of jobs created is farcical. It's about how many companies you have or attract, how many innovators, how many start-ups, business growth, infrastructure, tax rates, etc.
DeleteAnd, as literally everyone who reads this blog and has an IQ over 95 has pointed out, it makes zero sense to ignore the fact you're comparing populations and economies of different sizes. I suspect you know that and yet choose to ignore actual, relevant data that accounts for those size differences (per capita job growth, per capita income, unemployment rate, etc.) because it disproves everything you built this blog and your whiny persona around.
Delete8:26: How does a complete falsehood "disprove" anything? If you told an economics professor that population determines the number of jobs created, he might question if your IQ is "over 95," or anywhere close to it.
DeleteRobert, I asked grok to read your blog and write a response to this post:
Delete"Saying Virginia has a ‘better’ economy just because it added more jobs is like saying Elon Musk is the best entrepreneur simply because Tesla sells more cars than a startup. Of course, a bigger company sells more cars—it has more factories, more employees, and a bigger market presence. But real success is measured by growth rate—how fast something is expanding relative to its size. A tiny startup growing 200% is way more impressive than Tesla growing 5%. Same with states: Virginia’s adding more jobs because it’s bigger, not because it’s magically attracting more businesses through sheer genius. And before you say, ‘It’s about innovation and tax policy,’ sure, those things matter—but they show up in growth rates, not just raw numbers. If Maryland’s economy is growing faster, that tells you which state is actually pulling ahead. But hey, if you prefer to ignore context and just count big numbers, go right ahead."
If you disagree please send your response via priority mail to the following address:
Elon Musk
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington, DC 20050
5:23: I'm surprised that Grok could be this wrong, and this socialist in its response. I've asked other AI bots about economic development issues of Maryland vs. Virginia and MoCo vs. NoVa/Fairfax, etc. I was shocked to find that they have been programmed to downplay the negatives in such comparisons. When pressed, they will claim certain job creation numbers and other stats are not available, when they clearly are. Google AI would not say that Virginia or Fairfax County were superior to Maryland or Montgomery County, whereas virtually every real world analysis has declared them to be.
DeleteI'm shocked that Elon's AI is so "woke" in this regard. He's the guy constantly moving his enterprises to Texas for the better business climate! Grok is also simply wrong. There is wide consensus, even among Democrats and Wes Moore himself, that Maryland's economy is stagnant. No one is using that term for Virginia.
I don't know how to dumb this down further. Not accounting for differences in size when comparing data points is just so stupid anyone with a decent 8th grade education would know better.
ReplyDeleteIt'd be like me saying "Virginia has 100,000 unemployed people. Maryland only has 70,000 unemployed people, therefore Maryland is a far better state for job seekers!" Or "Baltimore has 200 murders and NYC had 350 murders, therefore Baltimore is safer than NYC!" Please tell me you understand.
11:08: I don't think anyone can understand how the population of a state would determine the number of jobs created. You make it sound like each resident is engaged in job creation somehow. It's the businesses and entrepreneurs who create the jobs (or government, in the case of government jobs). In the case of moribund Maryland, there are simply less business enterprises being started, less business expansion, and less jobs being created than in vibrant Virginia.
Delete"You make it sound like each resident is engaged in job creation somehow"
DeleteDuh, Sherlock. That's literally what we're talking about. A resident who joins the workforce accepts a position (of which nearly 200,000 are currently available, unfilled in MD) and thus a new job is created. Did you seriously learn that just this second? You honestly thought job creation was unrelated to available workforce size?? This might legitimately be the dumbest conversation I've ever had with another adult.
4:57: Wrong again. Most jobs that are created and employ Montgomery County residents, for example, are located in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. A second example would be the periods in recent years when Prince George's County added more jobs than MoCo, despite being less populous.
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with my comment. Goodbye.
Delete9:13: You moved the goalposts again, now talking about "available workforce size." Well, alright, I moved to your new topic, and explained that much of the "workforce" filling the jobs in NoVa lives in Montgomery County. That has everything to do with your comment.
DeleteHow many jobs has Robert Dyer created?
ReplyDelete5:02: I created the Montgomery County press corps. You're welcome.
DeleteMoCo press corps, non-existent, fictitious organization.
ReplyDeleteMeasuring by per capital is pretty standard practice. Apples to apples. Now, if you had data showing Virginia has created more higher paying jobs than Maryland on a per capita basis, then you would have something.
ReplyDelete7:16: Surely all the experts, media, and Democrat elected officials who are agreeing that Maryland is moribund, and Virginia is booming, are using standard benchmarks to determine that. Why are you the only source claiming otherwise? Sounds like gaslighting to me.
DeleteNone of them have said that Maryland is “moribund”. Just you.
Delete1:40: In fact, they all have. It's a matter of confirmable public record. Thank you for confirming you are simply gaslighting.
DeleteThe comment from 1:40 is not from me. I am sure some people have said Maryland's economy is not great. But I am not sure what you mean by gaslighting. I simply pointed out that per capita is how economists measure different demographics on an apples to apples basis. If you don't want to accept that then it is your choice. Best of luck to you.
Delete11:33: I was primarily responding to 1:40's claim that no one else has said Maryland's economy is moribund, when that is clearly not true. 1:40's claim is therefore gaslighting - trying to convince people that the truth they are seeing is not real.
DeleteI don't disagree that measuring by per Capita basis is one legitimate facet to examine. If you were simply pointing that out, separate from the "population is destiny" arguments being made by others above, I apologize for the misunderstanding.
The only regard in which that could be gaslighting is if we were not also able to provide the context that some states with bigger populations than Virginia have created less jobs than Virginia in any given month. Therefore, the per capita measurement alone cannot be used to excuse Maryland's job creation performance vs. Virginia's.