State loses some jobs, but unemployment rate stable

Maryland picture remains stronger than nation’s

Despite job losses, the state was still ahead by 3,300 jobs since January. That’s a strong showing by national standards: Across America, private-sector payrolls declined by 91,000 in June, as year-to-date losses reached 485,000.

In Maryland, a number of sectors, including construction, information, finance and insurance, health care and real estate, reported higher job totals last month.

‘‘Our diverse and strong economy continues to help hold our unemployment rate considerably below that of the nation, but it is clear that Marylanders are feeling the effects of the housing crisis, rising gas prices and the greater economic slowdown,” Thomas E. Perez, secretary of the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said in a statement.

The nationwide unemployment rate rose in June to 5.5 percent from 4.6 percent in June 2007. Over the year, jobless rates were up in 45 states and Washington, D.C., down in four states and unchanged in one state.