Maine's unemployment rate just keeps sinking
The record-low unemployment rate in Maine continued to sink last month, reaching 2.8%, the state Department of Labor said in a news release Tuesday.
The October rate is down slightly from the unemployment figure of 2.9% in September and August, and down from 3.5% in October 2018. The number of unemployed Mainers fell by 4,900 over the year to 19,500.
Maine’s unemployment rate has been under 4% for 46 consecutive months, more than double the previous streak below that level, from 1999-2001, according to state economist Glenn Mills.
There were an estimated 633,800 nonfarm jobs in October, an increase of 6,500 from one year ago. The private sector accounted for 533,600 of those jobs, up 6,600 from October 2018, with the largest job gains occurring in the leisure and hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and construction industries.
Government jobs in Maine numbered 100,200. That estimate hasn’t changed significantly in five years, but now accounts for only 15.8% of all jobs in the state — the lowest share on record, Mills said.
The national unemployment rate in October was 3.6%, a slight increase from the September rate of 3.5% and slightly less than 3.8% in October 2018.
October’s unemployment rates in other New England states were: 3.6% in both Connecticut and Rhode Island, 2.9% in Massachusetts, 2.6% in New Hampshire and 2.2% in Vermont.
According to data that was not seasonally adjusted, unemployment rates were at all-time lows for October in each of Maine’s metropolitan areas: 2.4% in Bangor, 2.5% in Lewiston-Auburn and 2% in Portland-South Portland.
Among Maine counties, unemployment was lowest in Sagadahoc, at 1.8%, and highest in Aroostook, at 3.5%.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments