As reported by the Baltimore Sun, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, announced today that unemployment insurance rates fell by more than half reflecting the state’s improving employment situation.

After three years of maximum rates, the balance in the fund rebounded to about $795 million on Sept. 30, up more than $330 million from a year earlier.

Paid on a per-employee basis, the quarterly tax varies based on whether an employer has laid off workers in recent years. Employers who have paid a higher rate, much higher in the cases of companies that have had large layoffs, than firms that haven’t let anyone go.

For the roughly half of Maryland employers that haven’t cut employees in the last few years, state unemployment insurance taxes will fall from $187 for the entire year to $85 for every worker paid at least $8,500 in 2013. That’s a 55 percent reduction.

There are 31 other rates in the tax table for next year. Employers paying at the top of the range both this year and next as a result of sizable layoffs will see per-employee taxes decline 22 percent, to $892.50.