CWRI

Annual revisions to monthly workforce estimates for Maine have been published. Based on more complete data, revisions indicate that the unemployment rate and size of the labor force were little changed throughout 2018. The number of nonfarm payroll jobs was somewhat higher early in the year and lower later in the year than previous estimates indicated. Data cited in this brief is seasonally adjusted. Unemployment Rate Preliminary estimates released each month indicated that unemployment was as low as 2.7 percent in the spring and as high as 3.4 percent in the last three months of 2018. Revised rates indicate that unemployment changed little during the year, gradually rising from 3.2 percent in the first three months of the year to 3.5 percent in the last five months. Given the size of the survey sample and margins of error in the estimates, there has essentially been no change in the statewide unemployment rate for more than two years. Unemployment has been below 4.0 pe