Maine’s unemployment rate inched down to 8.2% in March, according to the Maine Department of Labor.
The preliminary rate is relatively unchanged from February’s revised 8.3%, and only slightly worse than March 2009’s 8%. The number of unemployed last month was 58,000, up 1,800 from one year ago. Nonfarm payroll employment totaled 591,000, a gain of 100 since February. Since December, Maine has gained 3,900 jobs, marking the first consecutive three-month job gain since the middle of 2007, according to the press release.
The New England average unemployment rate was 9.1% in March, while the U.S. average was 9.7%.
