Business

The June 2023 preliminary unemployment rate in Montgomery County showed the lowest non-seasonal June rate in more than 30 years at 1.5%, according to information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ State and Local Area Unemployment Statistics series and released Wednesday by the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. This key metric is the lowest of any June tracking to 1990. It was also lower than Maryland’s overall rate, which was 1.7%, compared to the Washington MSA at 2.5% and the national average at 3.8%.

Executives for a Baltimore cannabis pharmaceutical company rang the opening bell on the Nasdaq Exchange on Wednesday, two days after closing the company’s nearly $9 million initial public offering. The biggest surprise of the day for CEO Erez Aminov was that ringing the bell to open the day of stock trading didn’t even involve a bell. “It’s a touchscreen,” Aminov said. “I’m not even in control of ringing the bell.”

Gaithersburg-based Emergent BioSolutions was supposed to be a key player in the nation’s COVID-19 vaccine production, but after a mix-up at its Baltimore plant that resulted in hundreds of millions in wasted doses, the company is largely exiting the business and laying off much of the staff. The company notified Maryland labor officials this week that it would eliminate 211 jobs at the Bayview plant in East Baltimore and cut another 20 in Montgomery County. About 400 workers across the company will be eliminated.

Coworking space provider WeWork Inc. (NASDAQ: WE), once one of the world’s most valuable startups, warned Tuesday that it may not remain in business much longer. “Substantial doubt exists about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The New York company said it is facing losses and is low on cash as it contends with higher customer churn and lower demand than it anticipated, interim CEO David Tolley said in a statement.

Gaithersburg biotech Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE: EBS) said Tuesday it is significantly reducing its contract development and manufacturing business in a cost-savings measure that will result in about 400 layoffs. Emergent said the move is being made to focus on its core products business, which includes medical countermeasures and opioid overdose antidote Narcan.

This summer marks the 50th year of YouthWorks, with almost 7,900 jobs offered to Baltimore youth. YouthWorks, originally called Blue Chip, dates back to 1973. The five-week job opportunity gives young people from 14 to 21 an opportunity to make money, a chance to learn valuable skills and so much more. Students working on a mural Tuesday earn $13.25 an hour, and it’s money that comes in handy. Isis Queensbury, a Realtor’s assistant, is in her second year working for YouthWorks.

Plans for a $155 million mixed-use redevelopment of Baltimore’s so-called Superblock downtown took a step forward Tuesday after a city panel voted to allow the demolition of five historic buildings. Tuesday’s hearing was the third time this year the proposed Superblock redevelopment went before the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation.

Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service downgraded 10 regional banks and put six other lenders on notice that they are under review, the latest blow to an industry still reverberating from the March banking crisis that led three firms to collapse. The targeted banks remain vulnerable to nervous depositors and investors, risks from higher interest rates, and a weakening commercial real estate market, Moody’s said.