An influx of people moving to the state during the pandemic has partly offset the number of Mainers aging out of the workforce, according to the latest employment outlook from the Maine Labor Department.
It's unclear how long the trend will persist. But the department said it's possible that in-migration will continue, further stabilizing an aging workforce.
"Anecdotally, as well as statistically for Maine employers, we're finding that many of the people who moved here in 2020 are choosing to stay, or at least are trying to stay," said Nate Wildes, the executive director of Live and Work in Maine, a nonprofit aimed at bringing employers and workers to the state.
Finding work for a spouse or partner was the biggest challenge for in-migrants before the pandemic, Wildes added.
"Even though there was an individual that was interested in taking the job, the family was a hard sell," he said. "That was pre-COVID. Post-COVID, that's gone. Everybody wants to be in Maine — kids and adults alike — is what our findings have shown and what this report demonstrates. But there's some real economic and arguably social contract challenges that we as Maine have the opportunity to solve."
Housing costs and child care availability, however, remain the biggest barriers for those who have recently moved to Maine.
Job numbers have returned almost entirely to pre-pandemic levels and are expected to increase by 15,700 by 2030, according to the Maine Labor Department.
Employment is expected to peak sometime before 2030, later than the Labor Department had projected two years ago, as younger workers moving to Maine have partially offset declining birth rates and the number of people aging out of the workforce.
