April 19, 2019
Maine unemployment rate remains flat in March
By Staff
The Maine Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today released workforce estimates for Maine that show the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate estimate of 3.4% for March was little changed from 3.5% for February and 3.2% one year ago.
The number of unemployed was up 1,100 over the year to 23,600. Maine’s unemployment rate has been below 4.0% for 39 consecutive months, the longest period on record.
The U.S. preliminary unemployment rate of 3.8% for March was unchanged from February and little changed from 4.0% one year ago.
The New England unemployment rate estimate for March was 3.2%, with New Hampshire 2.4%, Vermont 2.3%, Massachusetts 3.0%, Rhode Island 3.8%, and Connecticut 3.9%.
The employment-to-population ratio estimate of 60.9% remained above the 60.6% U.S. average.
Here’s the breakdown
The 632,800 preliminary non-farm payroll jobs estimate for March was up 2,900 from one year ago. The private sector estimate was up 2,600 to 532,500, with gains primarily in the hospitality and manufacturing sectors. The government estimate was up 300 to 100,300 jobs, with gains primarily at the federal Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.
The non-seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate estimate of 3.8% for March was little changed from 3.9% one year ago. Unemployment was lowest in Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties (2.9%) and highest in Washington county (6.3%).
Among metro areas, the unemployment rate was below the statewide average in the Portland-South Portland area (3.0%) and close to the average in the Lewiston-Auburn (3.7%) and Bangor areas (3.8%).
Monthly workforce estimates are cooperatively produced and released by the Maine Department of Labor, Center for Workforce Research and the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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