Maine’s unemployment rate fell in October seven percentage points compared with the same month last year.
The unemployment rate in October was 7.4%, a drop from 8.1% last October and down from 7.7% in September, according to the Maine Department of Labor. The number of unemployed Mainers was 51,100, a 6,000 decline from the previous year. Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman attributed the drop to a number of factors, including “modest job growth and individuals leaving the labor force to attend school or for other reasons, such as discouragement over job prospects.”
The national unemployment rate for October was 9.6% for the third consecutive month, and the New England average unemployment rate was 8.2%.
