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November 22, 2011

Report: Sluggish job growth for Maine

By The Mainebiz News Staff

Maine is projected to lag behind other New England states when it comes to adding jobs over the next year and a half, a forecasting group said Saturday.

The New England Economic Partnership released its fall outlook over the weekend, which found that Maine would see employment grow just 3.2% between its lowest point and the second quarter of 2013. This is below all other New England states, the New England average of 5.4% and the U.S. average of 8.2%. By the end of 2015, Maine's unemployment rate is projected to be 7.3%, higher than the forecasted national average of 7.2%, as well as higher than Vermont's projected unemployment of 4.2%, the lowest projection in New England. The region as a whole will experience slow growth as a result of weak global and U.S. economic conditions, and will not bounce back to pre-recession jobs levels until the second quarter of 2015.

Housing prices are also projected to remain flat or decline in New England until 2013. But by 2015, Maine and Vermont are projected to see home prices rise by more than 20%, with a 21.6% increase in Maine and a 25.8% jump in Vermont.

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