PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s unemployment rate was unchanged from April to May, holding at 4.7 percent, while the estimated number of people looking for work rose for the first time since last fall.
The latest calculation for Maine came as the estimate of people working and the estimate of people looking for work rose. The unemployment rate was down from 5.7 percent one year ago, meaning there were about 7,800 fewer job seekers unable to find work.
The drop in unemployment estimates since late last year has been driven entirely by a decline in the estimate of people looking for work, not the number of people gaining jobs.
The most recent estimates, based on monthly surveys and adjustments for seasonal employment changes, fluctuate month to month and later are revised, but the longer term trend has shown a decline in employment and in the civilian labor force.
The unemployment rate represents the percentage of the people with a job or looking for a job who are unable to find work.
The estimate of people with jobs and the civilian labor force estimate both rose in May, in preliminary estimates.
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Maine’s unemployment rate held steady in May, as the national unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.5 percent, from 5.4 percent in April. The national jobless rate was 6.3 percent one year ago.
Maine’s jobless rate was below the regional average for New England states, which was 4.9 percent in May. Maine had a higher unemployment rate estimate than Vermont at 3.6 percent; New Hampshire at 3.8 percent; Massachusetts at 4.6 percent; but a lower estimate than Rhode Island at 5.9 percent and Connecticut at 6.0 percent.
The estimate for nonfarm jobs in Maine was about 5,000 higher than one year ago, up to 609,900, the combination of an increase in estimates of private sector employment and a decrease of government employment estimates.
The not seasonally adjusted rates declined in each county in Maine for the year, with the lowest rate of 3.7 percent in Cumberland County in May. Somerset County had the highest unadjusted unemployment rate for the period, at 7.2 percent.