Maine's labor productivity lags most states' in growth
Maine workers, like those in every state, put in more hours and put out more results last year than in 2020.
But Maine’s growth in productivity — the measure of goods and services that workers delivered in those hours — lagged nearly every state in the Northeast, new federal data show.
The state’s labor productivity rose 0.5% in 2021 over the previous year, according to a report issued Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That increase ranked Maine No. 37 nationally, tied with Nebraska.
Maine’s 589,000 workers in the private, nonfarm sector increased their output by 6.3%, but also worked 5.3% more hours than in 2020. The result was a productivity bump less than those of any northeastern state except New Jersey and Rhode Island, which lost productivity by 0.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
The federal data did not include raw numbers representing output or hours worked, and instead only showed percentage changes in those measures.
Washington and New Hampshire experienced the highest growth in labor productivity, with increases of 6.4% and 5.2%, respectively.
In addition to New Jersey and Rhode Island, seven other states saw productivity declines in 2021: Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada and Wyoming.
The BLS report also showed that labor compensation costs rose 11.2% in Maine during 2021, compared to the previous year. The average increase among northeastern states was 9%.
Overall in the Northeast, labor productivity increased 1.8%.
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