After a blockbuster month for hiring in March, Maryland employers added 200 jobs in April, a small gain that nevertheless helped drive down the unemployment rate to 4.6 percent, according to estimates the Labor Department released Friday.
The professional and business services sector — a grab bag category that includes government contractors and temp workers — led the hiring, adding 1,700 jobs over the month, while leisure and hospitality employers added 1,400 positions.
The gains in those industries, as well as in financial activities and education and health, made up for losses in other fields, including trade, transportation and utilities, which lost 2,000 jobs and manufacturing which shed 1,000 positions.
Government payrolls fell by 600.
The new estimates positively revised March's gain to 20,300 jobs, up 1,000 from what had been reported previously. While many analysts had said they anticipated changes to March's figures, they had thought it might go the other way.
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