Economy

A report released by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and Maine Community Foundation calls for a more predictable, efficient and transparent regulatory environment.

A monthly national barometer of small business optimism released by the National Federation of Independent Business shows a dip in March. In a monthly barometer released Tuesday, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell 3 points in March to 95.8, leaving it below its 52-year average of 98.

Maine's real GDP growth rate was 0.0% for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, measured on an annualized basis. Personal income grew by 2.9%.

“There’s really no workarounds," an industry insider said. “We’re not going back to the days of cross-cut saws and horses."

While some construction companies are already feeling the pinch of higher fuel costs, others are weighing their next moves.

"The wage gap remains a reality we must confront," Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said on Thursday's National Equal Pay Day. The designation represents how far into the year women in the U.S. just have worked in 2026 to earn what men made in 2025.

The Maine Center for Economic Policy estimates that ICE's “Operation Catch of the Day" reduced taxable retail sales by around $3.4 million during the 10-day period in the areas most directly affected by the raids.

An analysis found that clean energy jobs grew three times faster than the state’s overall workforce.

“My baseline features a still-uncertain inflation picture, with continued upside risks,” Susan M. Collins told a business gathering on Friday.

“When energy costs rise, everyone feels it — at the gas pump, in heating bills and in grocery prices,” an economics professor at the University of New England College of Business told Mainebiz.