August unemployment flat in Maine
Maine's unemployment rate in August was 5.5%, unchanged from July, but up from 4.8% in August 2007, according to the Maine Department of Labor.
The state's unchanged jobless rate between August and July resisted a national trend upwards. Nationwide, unemployment rate rose from 5.7% to 6.1% in August. Laura Fortman, Maine's labor commissioner, said despite the jobless rate remaining steady, labor market conditions have continued to weaken in Maine. "The number of Maine residents employed has been slowly declining from the peak reached earlier this year," she said in a press release.
The number of seasonally-adjusted nonfarm wage and salary jobs in Maine dropped by 700 between July and August, contributing to a net loss of 2,000 jobs over the past year. Some sectors in Maine showed growth between August 2007 and August 2008, according to the release. Jobs were added in professional and business services and health care and social assistance, while job losses were reported in the financial, construction, trade, transportation, utilities, manufacturing, government and information sectors.
In New England, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment percentages for August ranged from 4.2% in New Hampshire to 6.5% in Connecticut.
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