Maine unemployment rate little changed in September
The unemployment rate in Maine was little changed in September at 4.8%, down slightly from 4.9% in August, as the lingering pandemic continued to weigh on jobs recovery.
The unemployment rate has been hovering around 4.8% or 4.9% each of the last eight months. Compared to February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic affected the labor market, the unemployment rate in September was 1.7 percentage points higher and the labor force participation rate was 2.2 points lower.
The decrease in Maine’s employment since February 2020 is partially reflected in the 11,300 increase in the number of unemployed and lower labor force participation. If labor force participation was as high in September as it was 19 months earlier, the unemployment rate would be 8.2%, the state Department of Labor said.
The U.S. and New England unemployment rates were 4.8% and 5.2%, respectively, in September. Rates for other states in the region ranged from a low of 2.9% in both New Hampshire and Vermont, to a high of 6.8% in Connecticut.
In Maine, the number of seasonally adjusted, nonfarm payroll jobs in the state decreased by 3,000 to 611,900 in September and the estimate for August was revised from a decrease of 1,200 to a decrease of 3,500 jobs, according to the Department of Labor.
In September, there were 6,500 fewer jobs than in July, which stands as the pandemic-era peak. The number of jobs was similar to levels from March through May, the department said.
One-third of the September decrease was in public and private education. Most of the rest of the decrease was spread across manufacturing, professional and business services, healthcare and social assistance, and other services.
“The coronavirus has had a clear impact on the jobs recovery over the last year. Surges in case counts stalled the recovery in the fall of 2020 and in the spring of 2021. The delta variant surge contributed to the net decrease in jobs over the last two months,” the department said in a news release.
Over the last year, the number of payroll jobs increased 12,100. The largest gains were in the leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and wholesale and retail trade sectors. In September there were 28,100 fewer jobs than in February 2020, before the virus impacted the labor market.
The not-seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate of 4.0% for September was unchanged from one year ago. Unemployment rates were lowest in Sagadahoc County at 3.1% and highest in Washington County at 6.1%.
Unemployment rates were below the statewide average in the Portland-South Portland metro area at 3.5%, and Bangor metro area at 3.8%. The rate was above the average in the Lewiston-Auburn metro at 4.4%.
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