A look back: Maine’s ‘workforce conundrum’ has deep roots
The year was 2002 and the Governor’s Economic Development Conference focused on an issue that’s as familiar today as it must have been then: workforce development and recruiting workers to Maine. In the June 10, 2002, issue of Mainebiz had a story called the “Workforce conundrum,” covering the conference. Michael Brigham, president and CEO of ImmuCell, a Portland biotech company was quoted as saying his company could offer high-paying jobs as an incentive to move to Maine. His challenge, he said, was one we hear a lot about today — the “trailing spouse” issue, where one partner finds a good job in Maine but the other is stranded by a lack of opportunities. Another participant in the conference went another direction altogether. He suggested recruiting more workers from eastern Canada. They are “cold-weather acclimated and they’re used to paying taxes.”
Fun Fact: In the 2006 Mainebiz Fact Book, the list of Maine’s fastest-growing municipalities was led by … not Westbrook, not Biddeford, not Waterville. The No. 1 was Dayton in York County, with population growth of 50.79% from 1990 to 2000, according to U.S. Census numbers. Today, Dayton’s population is 2,014.
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