Data remains unclear on whether port suffered job losses after Key Bridge collapse | Finance & Commerce

BALTIMORE, Md. — Maryland saw a statewide decline in transportation, warehousing and utility jobs in the two months following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, though it’s not yet clear exactly how many Port of Baltimore workers lost their jobs during the 11 weeks the port’s main channel was fully or partially closed.

Most of the roughly 20,000 jobs at and around the port are in transportation, warehousing and utilities, and the broader sector comprises about 109,000 jobs statewide, according to the Maryland Department of Labor.

Between March and May, the sector saw a statewide decrease of 1,600 jobs, a recent jobs report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics states.

Maryland officials have for weeks said that government aid has cushioned the blow for workers and kept the port economy afloat while the damaged Dali cargo ship and downed bridge were blocking the Patapsco River shipping route after disaster struck on March 26.

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Labor Secretary Portia Wu said in a statement Tuesday that she was “very heartened” to see the success of government aid programs, which funneled tens of millions of dollars to hundreds of businesses and thousands of individual employees who rely on the port.

One program kept more than 3,100 workers in their jobs, according to the Department of Labor.

Port leaders have also said that the speed with which federal and state responders cleared and reopened the shipping channel has prevented companies from diverting their cargo elsewhere and positioned some work to resume previous levels by mid-July.

Preliminary data for May showed the statewide transportation, warehousing and utilities sector gained 1,200 jobs, but it’s not yet clear to what extent aid programs drove the increase.

The data may change, too.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics revises prior employment data each time it issues a monthly report, and state labor officials expect the May numbers to change when preliminary data comes out for June. The bureau is expected to publish its next report on July 19.

Following a pandemic-era boom, transportation, warehousing and utility jobs have decreased in recent years.

Monthly job losses in the sector statewide more than doubled from about 1,100 in March to 2,800 in April, according to the state Department of Labor.

While economists and officials at the department see the bridge collapse as a factor in the increase, they’ve refrained from citing it as the sole reason.

With the port fully reopened, the state has also wound down its financial assistance.

In mid-May, the state ended the first of its five aid programs, through which employers could apply for up to $7,500 per worker to avert layoffs and subsidize support services like childcare and transportation.

Days after reopening the 50-foot-deep by 700-foot-wide federal shipping channel on June 11, state officials began winding down the others.

Friday will be the last day for port workers to apply for $430 in weekly income to supplement lost wages since the bridge collapsed.

It will also be the final day for small businesses to apply for grants of up to $100,000 through the state Department of Commerce and for grants of up to $50,000 through the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

The Department of Housing and Community Development will continue accepting applications from small businesses for no-interest loans of up to $500,000 through mid-August.