Unemployment remains historically low in Maine.
The state Labor Department says the preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November was 3.3 percent, down from 3.5 percent in October and from 3.8 percent a year ago.
Labor Department economist Glenn Mills says the state is about to complete its second consecutive calendar year with unemployment averaging below 4 percent.
“This has only occurred 2 other times on record: in 2000-2001 and then in the late 1950s. So we’re in a really healthy period,” he says.
Mills says contributing to the low jobless numbers is a generally good economy and an aging workforce. He says while a lot of people are retiring, fewer young people are seeking employment and that’s causing a lot of tightness in the labor market.
