unemployment

PORTLAND, Maine - Maine's three metropolitan areas saw big declines in unemployment last year.

Figures released Feb. 3 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show that between December 2014 and December 2015, unemployment in the Bangor area fell from 4.9% to 3.7%.

In the Greater Portland/South Portland area, the rate fell from 4% to 2.8%. The biggest decline was recorded in the Lewiston-Auburn area, where unemployment fell from a rate of 4.9% to 3.4%. 

The bureau's figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine businesses will pay less in unemployment insurance taxes next year because more of the state's residents have returned to work.

The Maine Department of Labor says the tax rate will drop to its lowest since 2009. It's a cut of about one fifth in unemployment taxes per employee.

Maine's preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in September from 5.6 percent a year earlier. Unemployment in the state was lower in September than it has been since April 2006.

PORTLAND, Maine - Maine's unemployment rate has declined to its lowest point in more than nine years.

State officials say the preliminary seasonally adjusted rate of 4.4 percent for September was down slightly from the 4.5 percent rate for August. It's the lowest unemployment rate since April 2006.

The number of unemployed people declined 8,800 over the year to 30,200.

The nationwide unemployment rate of 5.1 percent was the same as the previous month and down from 5.9 percent a year ago. New England's unemployment rate was 4.6 percent.

AUGUSTA, Maine - State labor officials say Maine's unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.5 percent in August.

The state's unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in July and 5.6 percent in Augusta 2014. The figures are seasonally adjusted. The number of employed also declined 8,200 over the year to 31,100.

Maine's employment-to-population ratio of 60.2 percent was above the national average of 59.4 percent. That has been the case for nearly eight years.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine officials say the unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in July and was little changed from the month before.

The Maine Department of Labor said Friday that the jobless rate last month was down from 4.7 percent in June.

The July rate was down from 5.7 percent a year ago. The number of people who were unemployed declined 7,500 over the year to 32,000.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, which was unchanged from June.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine's unemployment rate held steady in June, at 4.7 percent. The rate is the same as May's, but it's down 1 percent from last year at this time. It's also below the unemployment rates of both the U.S. and New England.

PORTLAND, Maine - Maine's unemployment fell to its lowest point in nearly eight years with a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.7 percent in April.

State labor officials say the April rate is a drop of 0.1 percentage points from March, and 1.1 points from a year ago. They also say the number of unemployed people fell 8,300 over the course of the year to 32,100.

Maine's employment to population ratio of 60.2 percent was above the nationwide rate of 59.3 percent. The nationwide preliminary unemployment rate for March was 5.4 percent. New England averaged 5 percent.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Officials say Maine's unemployment rate ticked down to 5 percent last month.

The Maine Department of Labor said Friday that the state's jobless rate declined slightly from 5.2 percent in January and 5.9 percent a year ago. The number of residents who were unemployed was down by more than 7,000 over the year to 34,400 last month.

The national unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in February, down from 5.7 percent in January.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine's jobless rate dipped slightly last month to 5.7 percent.

In October, the state's unemployment rate was 5.8 percent. The Maine Department of Labor said Friday that November's rate was down 0.7 percent from one year ago.

Officials say there were 40,200 people unemployed last month, down from 45,600 last year.

Maine's jobless rate remains slightly lower than the national rate of 5.8 percent. The average unemployment rate for New England is also at 5.8 percent.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine officials say that the state's unemployment rate held steady in October at 5.8 percent.

The rate is unchanged from September and is down a percentage point from a year ago.

The Maine Department of Labor said Friday that 40,800 people were unemployed, down 5,300 from last year.

The national unemployed rate was also 5.8 percent last month.

New England's average jobless rate was slightly higher at 5.9 percent. New Hampshire and Vermont are the only states in New England that had a lower unemployment rate than Maine did in October.

PORTLAND, Maine - Maine officials say seasonally adjusted unemployment rose slightly in the state from August to September.

The state's Department of Labor reports preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rose from 5.6 percent in August to 5.8 percent in September. The figure is down one percentage point from a year ago. Officials say the number of unemployed declined by 6,000 over the course of the year to 40,700.

Labor officials say Maine's ratio of employment to population was 60.9 percent, which is 1.9 percentage points higher than the national average.

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine's unemployment rate ticked up slightly in August to 5.6 percent.

The Maine Department of Labor said Friday that the jobless rate was up from 5.5 from July, but remains one percentage point lower than it was a year ago.

The department says that 39,800 people were unemployed in August, down 7,400 from last year.

Maine's unemployment rate remains below the national average of 6.1 percent and the New England average of 5.9 percent.

Maine's unemployment rate held steady in July at 5.5 percent, the same rate recorded in June but significantly down from the 6.7 percent rate recorded a year ago.  State labor officials say the number of jobless Mainers fell 8,700 over the year, to 38,800.

State officials say it's the lowest unemployment rate in Maine since August of 2008. The state's jobless rate is also below the national average of 6.2 percent, which was little changed from 6.1 percent in June and down from 7.4 percent a year ago.