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July 20, 2009

Maine's June jobless rate hits 8.5%

Maine kept shedding jobs in June, pushing the unemployment rate to 8.5%, up from 8.3% in May and 5.2% a year ago, according to seasonally-adjusted preliminary calculations from the Maine Department of Labor.

"Although unemployment remains high, the rate of job loss has moderated in recent months," State Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said in a statement. "It is too early to tell if this is the beginning of a turn in the economy."

Things certainly could be worse. National unemployment rose to 9.5% in June, a 26-year high, and 15 states have posted unemployment levels above 10%, the Associated Press reported. And Michigan is now reporting that its jobless rate is higher than 15%.

Maine's Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission has predicted continuing job losses through the beginning of 2010, and The Federal Reserve has projected that national unemployment will pass 10% by the end of the year, according to the AP.

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