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A lot has changed in five months.

In October, Montgomery Works in Wheaton, one of several government-operated employment centers in the county, was getting busier each day that the country's economic troubles worsened, but had not yet reached critical levels.

Now, however, the parking lot is fuller. There is a longer line at the reception desk. The workforce room is more crowded. The wait time for a computer is longer. Clients' problems are bigger, and the need is greater. In short, the recession is deeper.

The employment center saw a 40 percent increase in the number of clients seeking service in February compared with last year, said Lisa Stern, a staff member at the Wheaton location. About 255 people visited the center each day, according to the February data.

Last year, Maryland lost a net 15,100 jobs, its first calendar-year loss in several years, according to U.S. Department of Labor figures.

Statewide, traffic has increased at the one-stop employment centers between 25 percent and 35 percent compared with the end of the summer, depending on the area within the state, said Andrew A. Moser, Maryland assistant secretary for workforce development.

"We are also seeing people come in with a multitude of issues: Not only are they unemployed, but they are also in foreclosure," he said.

Added to those numbers are couples who have both lost their jobs, a rarity in the past, Moser said, but a common occurrence these days.

"There are also a large number of people coming in who are living paycheck to paycheck, and now they're flat broke."

Silver Spring resident Omar Paredes, 52, has been living paycheck to paycheck — his wife's paycheck — since losing his job almost four months ago. Paredes, a Latino immigrant who has lived in the country for 20 years, worked as a housing unit inspector in Greenbelt before the company was bought out, ownership changed and the staff was downsized.

His salary was $16.45 an hour; now he gets by on unemployment insurance while applying for jobs paying $7 to $8 an hour.

Adding to his woes, Paredes is in danger of losing his home to foreclosure. On Monday, he was waiting to hear from Bank of America on whether he qualified for aid under the Obama administration's foreclosure assistance program.

"Since I lost my job, my credit has gone bad. I haven't been able to pay my mortgage," Paredes said. "I don't want to lose my home; that's my American dream."

Maryland's unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in December, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Updated figures being released Wednesday are expected to show the rate increased to about 6 percent in January, said officials with the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

For the week ending Feb. 28, new unemployment insurance claims reached 5,743 statewide, including 1,177 claims in the area serving Montgomery County residents. During the same period last year, there were 3,153 claims statewide, and 575 locally.

Tonya, 34, who asked that her last name not be used, has relied on unemployment benefits for two months for herself and her two children, ages 9 and 12.

The Silver Spring resident was laid off from her dental assistant position in January. At the time, Tonya estimates her salary for the entry-level position was $31,000 — "not huge, but enough for us," she said.

Fortunately for Tonya, she has a supportive family in the area and a rent subsidy through the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. Unfortunately, her job search has been more difficult than for many recently unemployed clients at the Wheaton center, because she is four months pregnant.

"I went on a couple of interviews, but haven't had any callbacks," she said. "When employers see my stomach, they don't want to hire me."

A 1983 car accident left Aspen Hill resident Thomas Levi, 52, disabled. He has had an uneven employment history since then.

Levi hasn't worked since 2002 and supports himself with Social Security payments. The former systems analyst has not been trained on the newer computer programs in use in his former industry, so competing for jobs has been difficult, he said.

As an alternative, Levi is thinking of trying his luck in Missouri, where he's heard jobs are more plentiful.

Not only has the recession hurt workers, it has also hit employers.

Steve Devoe, who runs Tiger Personnel Services temporary agency in Silver Spring with his wife, Toni, has seen a decrease in commercial clients looking to hire temporary employees. He also has seen an increase in the number of workers seeking those remaining jobs.

"Typically, we would get in 15 to 20 inquires a day from people looking for jobs; now we get more than 35 a day," said Devoe, a 20-year veteran of the employment industry.

The agency received 45 resumes for one job opportunity at a federal agency last week.

"I haven't seen it this bad before. If you sat in my seat and heard the stories …," he said, his voice trailing off.

Pastor Jeff Jones hears the stories once a week. He began a support group at his Burtonsville church for unemployed workers to discuss their concerns and get advice from employment professionals.

"Our goal is to deal with change in life situations, so the loss of a job is a significant transition moment," Jones said.

Fortunately for his group of participants, all have employed spouses, so "they are not absolutely desperate yet," he said.

"I'm here for the duration as long as the jobless rate keeps climbing," Jones said. "I haven't gotten anybody into a new job yet, but that is a part of what we'll celebrate."

Staff Writer Stephanie Schaffer contributed to this report.