Maine’s unemployment rate in April was 4.7%, its lowest since July 2007. The rate was down from 4.8% the previous month and about 1% less than it was a year ago.
The Maine Department of Labor reported on Wednesday that an estimated 32,100 people were unemployed last month, 8,300 fewer than a year ago.
The national unemployment rate in April was 5.4%, a slight decrease from the previous month and a decrease from 6.2% one year ago.
Maine’s unemployment rate remained under the average of 5.0% for the New England states. The state was the same as Massachusetts (4.7%), lower than Rhode Island (6.1%) and Connecticut (6.3%), and higher than New Hampshire (3.8%) and Vermont (3.6%).
Maine’s employment-to-population percentage was 60.2% in April, the 91st consecutive month the state has been above the national average of 59.3%.
The state’s preliminary estimate for nonfarm payroll jobs in April was 609,400, an increase of 6,400 from one year ago. Private sector jobs made up the majority of that increase, with the largest gains in the education, professional and business services and hospitality sectors.
Unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted.
