Andy Bauer and John Bailey Jones discuss the factors that have shaped the demand for and supply of labor in recent years. They also talk about the barriers to labor force participation in Maryland, including lack of affordable child care and housing. Bauer is vice president and regional executive for the Baltimore branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Jones is vice president of microeconomic analysis.

The benefits of early childhood education are well known, but factors such as cost and a shortage of child care workers still present obstacles.

A reduction of the federal workforce will affect D.C., Maryland, and Virginia more extensively than the rest of the country, but much depends on how and where the cuts occur.