Maine’s unemployment rate was 8.5% in September, down slightly from a revised 8.6% rate in August.
The number of unemployed Mainers in September totaled 59,600, an increase of 20,300 from September 2008, when the unemployment rate was 5.6%, according to the Maine Department of Labor. Nationally, the unemployment rate in September was 9.8%, up from 9.7% in August and 6.2% a year ago.
There were 592,800 nonfarm wage and salary jobs in September, a decrease of 2,300 jobs since August. Job losses were recorded across a number of sectors with the largest losses in leisure and hospitality, government and retail. Over the last 12 months, only education and health services have experienced net job growth.
