Maine's unemployment rate skyrockets, though less than national rate
Reflecting the brunt of the global health and economic crisis for the first time, Maine’s unemployment rate more than tripled in April to 10.6%, the state Department of Labor reported Friday.
The number of nonfarm jobs in Maine plummeted by 98,400 during the month, the sharpest loss ever in the month of April, and left the state with 531,700, the lowest total since July 1994. Every economic sector and every region were affected.
The unemployment rate, based on data that had not been seasonally adjusted, was lowest in Kennebec County, at 10.1%, and highest in Oxford County, at 14%.
But despite its dizzying new height, the unemployment rate for Maine was significantly below the national rate of 14.7% in April, the Labor Department said in a news release.
In March, Maine recorded an unemployment rate of 3.2%, the same rate as in February, and the 51st consecutive month in which the rate was below 4%. Job losses were a relatively modest 7,200.
But because of when the data was collected, the state’s economist said, the March numbers didn’t demonstrate the full impact of the pandemic. Maine recorded its first case of COVID-19 on March 12.
Job losses between February and April impacted every major industry sector. The largest decrease was in leisure and hospitality, where 42,600 jobs were lost, representing 61% of jobs in that sector, and 40% of jobs lost in all sectors.
State economist Glenn Mills cautioned in the release that the numbers may still under-represent the full effect of the crisis.
"As sharp as the increase in unemployment is, it does not fully reflect the magnitude of job loss that has occurred, either in Maine or the U.S.," he said. "This is because to be counted as unemployed a person must have engaged in work search activities in the previous four weeks and have been available to work.
"The pandemic disrupted the labor market in many ways, including preventing people who lost a job and wanted a new job from engaging in normal work search activities because of concerns for personal safety and because of stay-at-home orders issued in most states."
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