The labor markets in Maine's three major urban areas recovered in June, according to data released Wednesday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.Unemployment in Lewiston-Auburn fell from 9.3% to 6.7%. In Bangor, the decline was from 9.4% to 6.4%. In Portland-South Portland, the jobless rate fell back into single-digits, from 10.4% to 6.7%.
Unemployment statewide also fell in June, as the state began to see lower rates of coronavirus infection, allowing for the re-opening of more sectors of the state's economy.
There was also improvement in New Hampshire's urban areas, but they were hit harder than Maine's by the pandemic and, in June, Portsmouth still had an unemployment rate of 9.6%, Dover-Durham was at nearly 11%, Manchester, 12.1%.
