While Pennsylvania government jobs are seeing an increase from last year, state budget cuts could affect jobs with smaller community governments.

Pennsylvania’s government industry employed 746,600 workers during November of 2008, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 748,600 workers in October but an increase of .4 percent from last year.

The County Commissioners Association recently met in Hershey, Pa. to discuss the fact that state budget cuts could begin to affect people’s jobs, according to an article by The Clarion News.

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Some Maryland healthcare jobs will soon be cut as one company plans to reduce its workforce by more than half.

EntreMed recently announced its plan to cut 60 percent of its workers, which will allow the company to focus on its development activities and support research for the next 18 months. According to an article by FierceBiotech, the company hopes to reduce its research activities to a minimal level and find third parties to help keep costs low.

As part of the layoffs, CEO Jim Burns and CFO Dane Saglio’s jobs will be cut. Kenneth Bair, senior vice president of research and development and Thomas Bliss, senior vice president of corporate and business development, also are looking at job cuts. Chief Medical Officer Carolyn Sidor will oversee clinical development and Mark Bray, vice president of research, will lead the research support for clinical activities.

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Amidst an economy that is shedding several technology jobs, DC IT jobs are continuing to grow.

Companies throughout the industry, from large publicly traded companies to smaller startup companies, have eliminated thousands of workers because of the current economic downturn. And the worst isn’t over yet, according to an article by The Wall Street Journal. However, Washington, D.C. seems to be weathering the storm.

A recent Dice.com survey of corporate hiring managers and other professionals who recruit technology workers showed that there will be fewer job options and more layoffs in the technology industry during the next six months. It also was found that of those who responded to the survey, 20 percent said layoffs were likely within their company, a 9 percent increase from June, and 72 percent said the current state of the economy has caused them to reduce hiring during the next six months, up from 53 percent in June.

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VA environmental jobs are crucial to the state’s economy.

According to a study by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, which was presented at the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention at The Homestead, Virginia’s agriculture and forestry industries have a $79 billion impact on the state’s economy. The two industries alone create about 501,500 jobs, or 10.3 percent of the state’s employment.

While the industries play an important role in Virginia’s economy, experts say there are favorable and unfavorable aspects to each industry, and the general public is drifting further away from both industries. According to an article by The News Virginian, the state can do more with its agriculture and forestry industries. One idea is that state farmers should diversify into farmers markets, agritourism, wineries, hay rides, pumpkin patches and pick-your-own places.

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