The Maine Department of Labor reported Friday the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues to fall, with February’s 3.2% rate being down from 3.5% in January. February’s rate also is 0.5% lower than the 3.7% rate reported in February 2016.
MDOL reported that February’s rate was the lowest since December 2000. The number of unemployed was down 3,000 over the year to date and now stands at 22,400.Â
Maine’s unemployment rate has been below 4% in 13 of the last 16 months, marking only the third time in 40 years that the trend of being below 4% has extended that long.
How Maine compares to nation, region
Maine’s February unemployment rate is 1.5% below the national unemployment rate of 4.7% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The U.S. rate for February is little changed from 4.8% in January and 4.9% one year ago.
Maine’s February rate is lower than the New England average of 3.7% for the same period. Rates for other states in the region were 2.7% in New Hampshire, 3% in Vermont, 3.4% in Massachusetts, 4.5% in Rhode Island, and 4.7% in Connecticut.
