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Maine Unemployment Rate Rose Slightly In September

Maine's jobless rate edged up a tenth of a percentage point in September to 3.3 percent.

Maine Department of Labor economist Glenn Mills notes that it has stayed below 4 percent for a record 34 consecutive months. He says that over the last 3 years, the average annual wage per job in Maine increased at the fastest rate for any 3 year span since 2001.

“Salaried people are earning more and hourly people typically are getting more hours, as well,” Mills says. “So it's playing out positively for both parts of the workforce.”

Mills says Maine has seen some growth in the manufacturing sector, with jobs created in industries such as chemical manufacturing, ship building and aircraft parts.

Ed is a Maine native who spent his early childhood in Livermore Falls before moving to Farmington. He graduated from Mount Blue High School in 1970 before going to the University of Maine at Orono where he received his BA in speech in 1974 with a broadcast concentration. It was during that time that he first became involved with public broadcasting. He served as an intern for what was then called MPBN TV and also did volunteer work for MPBN Radio.