Maine jobs report gives mixed review for January
Maine's unemployment rate in January was 5.2%, down from 5.5% the previous month and nearly 1% less than it was a year ago. However, the state’s preliminary estimate for nonfarm payroll jobs decreased for the first time since mid-2011.
The Maine Department of Labor reported on Tuesday that an estimated 38,000 people were unemployed in January, 6,400 fewer than a year ago.
The national unemployment rate in January was 5.7%, slightly up from 5.6% the previous month and a decrease from 6.6% one year ago.
Maine's unemployment rate remained just under the average of 5.3% for the New England states. The state was lower than Rhode Island (6.5%) and Connecticut (6.3%), and higher than New Hampshire (4%), Vermont (4.1%) and Massachusetts (5.1%).
The state's preliminary estimate for nonfarm payroll jobs in January was 601,400, down 500 from one year ago. Private sector jobs decreased by 400 over the same period while government jobs decreased by 100.
The Maine Department of Labor said in a statement that “this is the first over-the-year decline in jobs estimates since June 2011." However, it continued, "these estimates tend to be volatile from month to month. The large decline in January is expected to largely be offset by increases in February and subsequent months.”
Maine's employment-to-population percentage was 60.1% in January, the 88th consecutive month the state has been above the national average (59.3%).
Unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted.
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