Maine’s labor market has nearly recovered, but workers are needed
PETER VAN ALLEN
The statewide unemployment rate dipped slightly in May, putting it at the lowest rate in 26 months and below regional and national rates.
Two years after the pandemic sent workers home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Maine’s labor market has reached near full recovery as the number of jobs neared pre-pandemic levels and unemployment hovered close to the lows of more than two years ago.
Overall, the labor market in Maine remains tight, with businesses ranging from McDonald’s to Home Depot casting a net for workers. Employers such as MaineHealth are offering sign-on bonuses for hard-to-fill jobs and some resort restaurants operating fewer hours due to limited staffing. Other operations, ranging from Sugarloaf ski resort to Jackson Laboratory are even developing workforce housing to help attract and retain employees.
According to the Maine Department of Labor, total nonfarm wage and salary jobs in Maine were essentially unchanged in April. After an upward revision for March, jobs increased an average of 3,400 in each of the last three months over the prior three.
The unemployment rate decreased to 3.3% and averaged 3.6% in the last three-months.
The 3.3% unemployment rate and 22,600 unemployed people were down from March and were the lowest in 25 months. The 59% labor force participation rate and the 57.1% employment-to-population ratio were little changed in the month, the Department of Labor said.
Total nonfarm wage and salary jobs were little changed in April, down 200 to 639,300, following an upward revision of 800 for the March estimate. Job gains in leisure and hospitality and in healthcare and social assistance were offset by decreases in retail trade and in professional and business services.
In the three-months through April the state gained an average of 3,400 jobs per month over the previous three months through January, mostly in leisure and hospitality, retail trade, healthcare and social assistance, and professional and business services.
The three-month average of jobs was 0.1% higher than the average for 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. Private sector jobs were 0.7% higher and government jobs were 3.0% lower, mostly in public K-12 and higher education. This was the first time in 24 months that the three-month average of jobs was higher than the average for 2019.
Among Maine's 16 counties, unemployment rates ranged from a low of 2.2% in Cumberland County to a high of 5.4% in Aroostook County.
In the three metro areas of the state, unemployment was 2.4% in Portland-South Portland, at 2.8% in the Bangor area and 2.9% in the Lewiston-Auburn area.
Private sector hours and hourly earnings averaged 33.9 hours and $28.64 in April. Private sector hourly earnings increased an average of 7.5% from a year earlier, led by a 13% gain in leisure and hospitality earnings. The work week was longest in manufacturing and shortest in leisure and hospitality. Earnings were highest in professional and business services and lowest in leisure and hospitality.
Average hourly earnings were higher than the statewide average in Portland-S. Portland, slightly lower than the average in Lewiston-Auburn, and below the average in the Bangor metro.
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