Nearly 1 in 10 workers in St. Mary’s County are federal employees
Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s ruthless cuts and arbitrary firings of federal workers will affect Marylanders across the state, Maryland Matters reports. St. Mary’s local economy is particularly under threat, as roughly 10% of its workforce is employed by the federal government.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT.
Maryland Matters: Federal Layoffs Pose Workforce Threats Beyond Prince George’s, Montgomery Counties
By Danielle J. Brown
March 10, 2025
- Relative to population size, you’re actually more likely to run into a federal worker in St. Mary’s County than in the either of those counties, given that nearly 10% of the workforce in St. Mary’s is considered a federal employee, according to state data.
- With Maryland’s proximity to the federal government, the number of contracts with the federal government within the state, and the presence of several military bases, Maryland is uniquely exposed and impacted by changes in funding and federal layoffs.
- “People get distracted by raw numbers instead of percentages,” said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. “If you want to understand the impact of something on a local economy, you’ve got to look at it as a percent of the workforce.”
- “It’s no doubt that St. Mary’s is a company town,” said Del. Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary’s) in an interview last week. “The main driving force of St. Mary’s: DOD (Department of Defense) government workers and DOD contracts. The economy on this is entirely based on that.”
- Layoffs have already started in the defense sector, according to recent news reports, with more cuts possible this week.
- Relative to size, Harford County has a rate of federal workers that almost rivals Montgomery County at 43 federal workers per 1,000 people, according to Maryland Matters’ analysis. One of the largest employers there is the Army base Aberdeen Proving Ground.
See also: Baltimore Sun: 29,000 Federal Workers in Maryland are Expected to Lose their Jobs, Adding $280M to State Budget Hole