Maine's unemployment rate was unchanged in May at 2.4%.
It has now been 18 months since Maine's unemployment rate slipped below 4%. The Maine Department of Labor says that's the third-longest such stretch on record. It's also a sign of the ongoing labor shortage in the state. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.7% in May.
The Maine Bureau of Labor reports 1,200 more jobs were created in the state last month, half of those in health care and social assistance.
For those Mainers who are employed, the Labor Department says wages in the private sector rose 3.9% over what they were in May 2022. The average number of hours people worked each week decreased .7 of an hour from a year ago.
