Maine’s stalled unemployment rate remains unchanged

(The Center Square) – Maine’s unemployment rate remained largely unchanged in November after shedding about 1,100 jobs, according to a monthly state report.

The preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month remained largely unchanged from October’s 4.8% rate, the Maine Department of Labor said in a report.

There were 613,100 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in November, which is relatively unchanged from the previous month, the agency said. A loss of 1,300 private jobs in health care and social assistance last month was offset by an increase of about 400 construction jobs.

“The number of jobs has essentially been unchanged since summer and is similar to levels in the spring,” the state agency said in the report. “The recent flatness is similar to what occurred during previous surges in coronavirus case counts last fall and this spring.”

There were 26,900 fewer nonfarm jobs in October than were reported in February 2020, before the pandemic impacted the state’s labor market, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the number of unemployed workers remained largely unchanged from October to November with 32,900 job seekers, the state agency reported.

Maine’s unemployment rate in November was higher than the national rate, which dropped by 0.4% to 4.2% in November, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department.

Rates for other New England states were 2.6% in Vermont, 2.7% in New Hampshire, 5.1% in Massachusetts, 5.1% in Rhode Island, and 6% in Connecticut.

Maine has paid out more than $2.3 billion in federal and state unemployment benefits since March 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak began.

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