AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s unemployment rate in June was 7.5 percent, up slightly from 7.4 percent in May, the state Department of Labor said Friday.
The number of unemployed people totaled 52,900, down 800 from the same time a year ago. By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate was 8.2 percent, unchanged from May. Maine’s figures are adjusted to reflect seasonal fluctuations in the labor market.
Officials said Maine’s unemployment rate rise since February, when it was 7.1 percent, is related to declining estimates of the number of employed people. That decline followed a period in which department estimates showed employment growth in late 2011.
“The upward and then downward trends in employment estimates that drove unemployment rates down in late 2011 and then back up in 2012 are at odds with indications from payroll data provided by employers, which signal relative stability in the number of jobs,” the Department of Labor said.
The department said Maine continues to have lower unemployment rates, higher rates of labor force participation and a higher share of population that is employed than the nation.
June’s 7.5 percent jobless rate compares to 7.6 percent a year earlier.
Unemployment rates tended to be lower than the statewide average in southern and central counties and higher among eastern and northern counties.
Gotta love Obamas policies for getting the unemployment down!
Gotta love LePage’s policies for increasing unemployment.
Doing good in The Blue States!
The Red State States are “Saturated in Blood Red” from the all the Government Job Cuts!
Are you serious about the blue states?? Really?? You mean like CA and NY, or RI?? How about DC??
Open for Business? Not with big mouth Lepage in office!
I heard Butchers are still employed as long as they have Knives sharpened up to cut Taxes!
We need Mitt (R)money, he is very good at creating jobs, a suggestion though if your looking for a job you will need to apply for a visa to either China, India or some other foreign country. I think he may need someone to watch his money in the Cayman Islands or Switzerland, and they call Obama un-american while sending jobs out of the country along with their money. Hypocrites!!
Wow! As we know May and June are the two summer months where seasonal employment in our Vacationland always causes unemployment to go down not up. This news does not bold well for what’s ahead this fall and winter. I’m now hoping that whatever it is that Mr. LePage and his GOP/Tea Party colleagues are doing in the way of job creation ends immediately. If not I and a lot of other people will end it for them when we go vote in November.
Mr. LePage, doing the same thing and failing all the time is one definition of insanity. For the sake of all those you’ve put out of a job or kept from getting a job, I ask you please to stop what you’ve been doing and ask an experienced or educated person for some help. You clearly need it.
More like 17.5 %
But Paul, say it ain’t so? You single-handedly created a multimillion dollar fireworks industry? We have a sign that says the state is open for business… we’re doing all we can to prevent a new national park and all those tourists spending money when they come to visit it. Do you have any other ideas?
Actually, Franklin, Somerset and Piscataquis counties have unemployment rates just as high as Washington County, typically. And they are WESTERN Maine.