ment, our total state product increased from $10. 4 billion in 1962
to $11. 2 billion in 1963. Last June, the United States Department
of Labor made much of the fact that for the first time in history
average wages in industry rose above $100 a week in the nation. I
am pleased to advise you that Maryland achieved this break-through
several months before the national record was set. In fact, the weekly
average wage rate in our State had reached the $100 mark as early
as last April. In September of 1963, employment reached an all-time
high of 1, 166, 600 Marylanders gainfully employed, while total
personal income for the first three quarters of the year increased by
6. 4 per cent over a corresponding period of 1962. In comparison,
total personal income for the nation on a whole advanced by only
5. 2. per cent.

Although more Marylanders are employed than ever before—and
are earning more money—we still face the problem of persistent
unemployment in some areas of the State. It is a temptation, I know,
to point with satisfaction to the fact that Maryland's rate of un-
employment is far below the national percentage of jobless. The
fact is, however, that statistics, no matter how gratifying, can never
erase the stark reality of poverty, of lost opportunity, of economic
waste which is the life of the unemployed. I am strongly confident
that our expanding economy will continue to aid us in our war on
poverty, just as industrial expansion within our borders in 1963
played a major role in the creation of a healthy economy. The De-
partment of Economic Development reports that 120 new or expanded
manufacturing enterprises, representing an investment of nearly
$106 million and eventual employment for more than 4, 000 Maryland
citizens, were added to our industrial community in 1963. In a de-
partment survey of industrial prospects for 1964, directed to major
industrial establishments within the State, most replies were opti-
mistic. Nearly 70 per cent of these corporations indicated that they
expected an increase in business activity ranging from 25 to 50 per
cent.

Here are some additional economic guidelines which show that
Maryland is enjoying a period of vibrant, healthy economic develop-
ment: Industrial production in the first three quarters of 1963 in-
creased 6 per cent over a corresponding period of 1962. Total valua-
tion of building for the same period showed an increase of almost
25 per cent. Retail trade (10 months) was up 6 per cent. Although
farm commodity prices were down all over the nation, Maryland's
farmers managed to show a slight increase in net income. Wholesale

15