Maine unemployment rate remains nearly flat for 9th month in a row
Maine's unemployment rate changed little in October, ticking up slightly from 4.8% 4.9%, the state Department of Labor said Friday.
The unemployment rate has been 4.8% or 4.9% for each of the last nine months. The October change represented an increase of about 33,000 in the number of Mainers looking for work, according to the department.
The number of nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 900 to 613,700 in October. A gain of 1,500 private sector jobs in the month, mostly in the manufacturing and leisure and hospitality sectors, was partially offset by a decrease of 600 jobs, primarily in local governments.
In October there were 26,400 fewer jobs than in February 2020, before the pandemic began to affect the labor market. Half of that decrease was in the leisure and hospitality sector, the Labor Department said, while one-quarter was in schools and government and 15% in health care and social assistance.
The U.S. unemployment rates was 4.6% in October. Rates for other New England states in the region were 2.8% in Vermont, 2.9% in New Hampshire, 5.3% in Massachusetts, 5.4% in Rhode Island and 6.4% in Connecticut.
Using data that was not seasonally adjusted, the Labor Department reported October unemployment rates ranging from 3.2% in Sagadahoc County to 5.9% in Somerset County. Unemployment rates were below the statewide average in the Portland-South Portland metro area (3.6%), close to the average in the Bangor metro (3.9%), and above the average in the Lewiston-Auburn metro (4.3%).
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