WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a solid 223,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent, a seven-year low. But wages failed to budge, and other barometers of the job market paint a mixed picture. The unemployment rate fell from 5.5 percent in May, the Labor Department said Thursday. But the rate […]
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Maine unemployment rate unchanged in May
AUGUSTA — Maine’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May was unchanged from the previous month. State labor officials say the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent last month. The rate was down from 5.7 percent a year ago and the number of unemployed declined 7,800 over the year to 32,200. The state’s ratio of employment […]
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Maine unemployment rate drops to 4.7 percent in April
PORTLAND — 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 1.1 points from a year ago. They also say the number of unemployed people fell 8,300 […]
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Maine may have paid millions to unemployed who didn’t look for work
As many as one in three Mainers on unemployment may not be eligible for benefits – yet the state has been cutting them weekly checks. Four successive audits by the state auditor, including one released earlier this month, have warned that the Department of Labor has failed to ensure claimants are actively looking for work, […]
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Maine unemployment rate hits lowest mark in 7 years
PORTLAND — The unemployment rate in Maine fell to its lowest point in more than seven years in March. The preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 5 percent in February to 4.8 percent in March. It was 5.8 percent a year ago. The state Department of Labor says Maine’s number of unemployed declined 7,800 […]
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Maine’s unemployment rate drops in February
AUGUSTA — 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 […]
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Maine unemployment rate drops to 5.2 percent
PORTLAND — Maine labor officials say the state’s unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent in January. State Labor Commissioner Jeanne Paquette released preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment figures for January that show the figure fell from 5.5 percent in December and 6 percent a year ago. The commissioner also says the number of unemployed fell 6,400 […]
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Robert Samuelson: Theories in abundance about low wage increases
WASHINGTON — The great wage mystery deepens. In economic recoveries, there usually comes a time when strong job gains lead to strong wage gains. Businesses must pay more to recruit and retain the workers they need. Not this time — or at least not yet. The unemployment rate has dropped from a peak of 10 […]
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Jobs forecast shows fall in manufacturing, growth in health care work in Maine
PORTLAND — In the Maine of 10 years from now, jobs making things, moving things and selling things are expected to decline as jobs in health care, education and hospitality industries increase. That doesn’t necessarily mean work making things will dry up, as the bulk of job openings will be to replace people retiring, but […]
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Speaker of Maine House and Gov. LePage disagree on state’s employment picture
AUGUSTA — Mark Eves, speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, said Friday the state is still lagging behind the rest of New England when it comes to job creation. Eves, D-North Berwick, was reacting to the last round of employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows employment levels for the […]