Employ Prince George’s presents local labor-market data; county unemployment at about 4.3%
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Summary
At a Feb. 23 briefing, Employ Prince George’s told the committee Prince George’s County unemployment rose to about 4.3% while Maryland’s rate was about 3.7%; the agency described three full-service centers, a 300-member network and wraparound services (transportation assistance, supplies, mental-health and financial literacy) and agreed to provide program outcome metrics.
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.