Is Your Company the Best Place to Work in Frederick?

Are you proud of where you work? If so, let us know! 

The Frederick County Department of Business Development and Retention is once again proud to co-sponsor the Frederick County Best Places to Work Campaign. Along with our partners at Frederick County Workforce Services, the City of Frederick Department of Economic Development and the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, we are looking for the Best Places to Work in Frederick County!

Any business in Frederick County can take the survey by clicking on the link here and winners are broken down into employment size. The winners will be announced live at the Delaplaine Visual Arts and Education Center on July 30th at a special awards ceremony and winners will be featured in Frederick Magazine. Check out last year's winners and story here!

The survey deadline is March 30, 2015. Please call us at 301-600-1058 if you have any questions and be sure to like our Best Places to Work page on Facebook for all the latest updates.

O Say Can You See Frederick County?

The tax base as the result of tourism spending increased 3.7% in Frederick County and a resulting $13.9 million in consumer impact, according to the newly published 2014 Annual Tourism Development Report. The leisure and hospitality industry also added 21.4% more jobs over the past 5-years in Frederick County, higher than any other industry and from 2013-2014. The tourism industry remains something to watch in Frederick County.

The Maryland Office of Tourism just released Destination Maryland: The Official Guide to Maryland State Travel many references to Frederick County including the C&O Canal as #7 of the Top 20 Ways to Experience Authentic Maryland and Frederick Keys Baseball in Classic Ballparks at #17. The County's Wine Trail, Cunningham Falls, Downtown Frederick, Civil War Museum of Medicine, Rose Hill Manor Park and Museum, New Market - The Antiques Capital of Maryland, the county's many covered bridges, world class restaurant scene, craft distilleries and many civil war and scenic attractions are also mentioned in the statewide guide.

For more information on what to see and do in Frederick County, visit the Official Frederick County Tourism Website.

Maryland Graduation Rates Hits Record High while Frederick County Exceeds Graduation Standards

More Maryland students are receiving their high school diplomas than ever before, according to data released yesterday by the Maryland State Department of Education. As the graduation rate has hit record levels, the dropout rate has also fallen to new lows for the state.

The four-year cohort graduation rate for the state of Maryland reached an all-time high of 86.4% in 2014 while Frederick County's graduation rate was 92.6%. Frederick County's high school graduation rates have remained above 90% over the last five years. Frederick County's drop-out rate for 2014 was 3.91% which is also significantly lower than the state's drop-out rate of 8.35%.

The complete Maryland Report Card can be found at www.mdreportcard.org.

December Monthly Business Economic Indicators

The December Edition of the Monthly Business Economic Indicators is packed full of new second quarter 2014 Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation information. This information is released 4 times a year and allows us to track trends in industry and employment growth.  To download the full report, please click here.

DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Unemployment

• At 4.6% for November 2014, it remains at the second lowest point all year and still consistently lower than the State and U.S. average
• Frederick County unemployment rates over the past 5 years at this time –
• November 2013: 5.1%
• November 2012: 5.5%
• November 2011: 5.6%
• November 2010: 6.6%

Job Growth

• Overall, employment has grown at the rate of about 1% per year since 2010.
• From 1^st quarter 2014 to 2^nd quarter 2014, Frederick County added 113 jobs or 0.1%.

Average Weekly Wage Growth

• The average weekly wage per worker in Frederick County has slowed down some since 2013.
• In second quarter 2014, it was $899 and in second quarter 2013, it was $911.
• Since 2010, the average weekly wage has increased overall to 5.6%
• The average weekly wage per worker in the state of Maryland was $1,023 in second quarter was $1,023 and grew 6.9% during the same time frame.

Industry Trends

• The industries that had the highest increase in employment since 2010 were: Leisure and Hospitality (21.4%); Construction (18.0%) and Natural Resources and Mining (14.5%).
• Of note, in 2012, construction jobs were at a 5-year loss of -21.44%, in 2013 Construction jobs increased 6.9% and in 2014, we are seeing double digit percentage growth.

• The industries that had the lowest percentage of increase in employment since 2010 were: Financial Activities (-19.4%), Information (-13.4%) and Professional and Business Services (-1.8%).
• Of note, in 2012, Financial Activities jobs were at a 5-year loss of -12.72% and then in 2013, at a -18.9% so this has been increasing with each year overall.
• Also of note in the Professional and Business Sector, this is the first time we are seeing a negative job growth overall since 2010. In 2012, employment was at a 5-year increase of 9.55% and in 2013, it was at a 5.8% 5-year increase.
• The industries that had the highest increase in number of new businesses since 2010 were: Financial Activities (15.6%), Natural Resources and Mining (13.0%) and Education and Health Services (11.7%).
• Of note, even though Financial Activities has gained the most in new businesses, the industry saw a -19.4% loss in employment over the last 5 years.

• The industries that had the lowest increase in number of new businesses since 2010 were: Information (-10.1%), Construction (-4.6%), and Manufacturing (5.0%)
• Of note, Construction businesses were at a -21.44% decrease over the past 5-years in 2012 and at 5-year decrease of -5.2% in 2013 so good news for the Construction industry! The same can be said for the Manufacturing industry. In 2012, they were at a -17.6% decrease in 5-year growth, in 2013, the industry improved slightly with a -2.4% 4-year decrease and is now seeing positive growth.

New Business Licenses Issued

The one year chart seems to show peaks and valleys and a positive trend for December.

Residential Housing Market

There are more houses on the market now than last year at a 35.2% increase in active inventory and a 5.7% increase in the number sold since last year. The average price has dropped slightly by -1.6%

Countywide Permits

2014 saw the second highest number of commercial and industrial permits over the past 5 years at 928 and the second highest in commercial and industrial construction costs over the past 5 years at $164,822,919.

REAL Share in December

Frederick commercial brokers got together for their quarterly REALShare event to discuss the market and projects they are working on.  MacRo Real Estate Services hosted the event which took place at 411 Aviation Way, Frederick, Md.  Brokers heard from marketing expert, Christina May from Illuminate8 regarding tools to assist in their marketing efforts.

The next quarterly meeting will be in March. If you are a commercial Realtor interested in this event, please contact Jodie Bollinger at jbollinger@frederickcountymd.gov.

Over 220 Business Leaders, Elected Officials and Partners Attend Frederick County’s Annual Business Reception

Frederick, MD – December 10, 2014 - The Frederick County Business Development and Retention Department (BDRD) held their Annual Business Reception at Dutch’s Daughter restaurant last night. More than 220 Frederick County business representatives, elected officials and partner organizations attended this year’s event.  A brief awards ceremony was held to honor Frederick County businesses.

According to Helen Propheter, BDRD Manager, “This event is a great opportunity for us to say thank you to our business community and honor those businesses that have located, expanded and created jobs for our citizens.”  The top 15 businesses from the attendee list were chosen for a Business Leader Award in the categories of new locations, business expansions and job growth.

The 2014 Business Leader Award for New Locations went to the following businesses:
1. ProList – moved from Montgomery County to Frederick off Rt. 85 into a 40,000sf facility and employs 70 people.
2. Vivint Solar – moved into a 16,000sf facility on Wedgewood Blvd and employs 60 employees.
3. MAXIMUS Federal Services, Inc. –expanded to the Frederick area to Presidents Court into a 25,000sf facility and employs 150 people
4. Go Ape – moved in March, 2014 into the Glass Factory and established their USA Headquarters.  They moved into 2,600 sf and employ 16 people in the Frederick office.
5. CarMax – expanded into the Frederick region off Rt 355 on 12 acres, with a 45,000sf showroom and employ 145 people.
The 2014 Business Leader Award for Business Expansions---those existing business who have expanded in Frederick County went to:
6. Wright Manufacturing, Inc – They expanded 22,000sf in response to greater demand of their own brand.  They now have 180 employed at their facility
7. STULZ Air Technology Systems, Inc – expanded 41,000sf and moved their metal and paint shop to accommodate their growth.  They employ 429 people at their site.
8. Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc- Frederick’s business and technology incubator has 24 companies; created 268 direct jobs with $16.6 million in annual payroll.   FITCI companies occupy 76,500sf in Frederick County.
9. Rice Tire - expanded 18,000sf at their North East Street facility.  They employ 40 people.
10. Lonza Walkersville, Inc. – expanded 44,000sf at their facility and employ currently 524 people

The 2014 Business Leader awards for Job Creation—those companies who have created jobs for Frederick County’s citizens, went to:
11. Plamondon Companies – Plamondon increased their workforce by 300 people
12. AstraZeneca – hired 245 people and they also expanded at their current facility by 6,500sf
13. Shepherd’s Staff In-home Care – expanded their workforce and hired 31 people
14. Hilton Garden Inn – Hilton Garden, Frederick expanded their workforce by 30 people
15. BNBI – Battelle National Biodefense Institute increased their workforce by 30 people

This year’s event was possible through our partnership with our sponsors.  Support was provided by Corporate Occupational Health Solutions, LLC, Miles & Stockbridge P.C, Frederick County Bank, Sandy Spring Bank, Swift Systems, Inc. and The Columbia Bank.

To view the gallery of photos from the event, please click here.

Historic Transition to Charter Government in Frederick County Today

The swearing-in ceremony for Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner and County Council Members Tony Chmelik, Kirby Delauter, Jerry Donald, Jessica Fitzwater, M.C. Keegan-Ayer, Bud Otis and Billy Shreve was held today at The Weinberg Center for the Arts. They represent the first County Council and County Executive for the new form of Charter Government in Frederick County.

To read County Executive Gardner's message, please click here and for more information about our new County Council, please click here.