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April 21, 2015

Maine unemployment rate down from last month

Maine's unemployment rate in March was 4.8%, down from 5% the previous month and 1% less than it was a year ago.

The Maine Department of Labor reported on Tuesday that an estimated 32,100 people were unemployed last month, 7,800 fewer than a year ago.

The national unemployment rate in March was 5.5%, unchanged from the previous month and a decrease from 6.6% one year ago.

Maine's unemployment rate remained under the average of 5.2% for the New England states. The state was the same as Massachusetts (4.8%), lower than Rhode Island (6.3%) and Connecticut (6.4%), and higher than New Hampshire (3.9%) and Vermont (3.8%).

Maine's employment-to-population percentage was 60.1% in March, the 90th consecutive month the state has been above the national average of 59.3%.

The state's preliminary estimate for nonfarm payroll jobs in March was 605,900, an increase of 2,300 from one year ago. Private sector jobs increased by 2,800, with jobs in the professional and business services, education and health care sectors making the largest gains. Government jobs, on the other hand, decreased by 500 over the same period.

Unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted.

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