According to the Maine Department of Labor, the state’s unemployment rate dipped once again in December and now stands at 3.0 percent overall. In November, Maine unemployment was 3.3 percent.
In York County, unemployment was 2.2 percent in December, which is down 0.8 percent from the 3.0 percent reported for the county in December 2016.
Sanford unemployment for December was 3.2 percent. Saco unemployment was 1.9 percent and Biddeford’s unemployment was 2.2 percent for December.
Nationally, the unemployment rate for December was 4.1 percent and that figure was basically unchanged from November’s 4.1 percent total. The national unemployment rate in December 2016 was 4.7 percent.
Maine’s seasonally adjusted civilian workforce stands at 705,266 through Dec. 31, with about 622,600 employed on company payrolls across the state.
Among all the states, Hawaii had the lowest unemployment rate in December at 2.0 percent. Alaska had the highest jobless
rate in the nation at 7.3 percent.
The largest increase in employment in December was in California with more than 52,700 job seekers finding work, followed by Florida at 27,400 and Oregon at 14,700.
New England state unemployment averages are for the most part below the national average.
New Hampshire unemployment for December was 2.6 percent, while Vermont was 2.8 percent and Massachusetts was 3.5 percent. Rhode Island’s December unemployment rate was 4.0 percent and Connecticut stood at 4.6 percent.
Unemployment rates are determined by the number of unemployed individuals divided by the total number of people in the civilian labor force.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data is collected from monthly household surveys and to be counted among the unemployed, job seekers have to be actively searching for work.
The national and state unemployment rates are classified as lagging indicators into the overall snapshot of the economy.
It’s because typically the last thing employers do following a recession is to take on new full-time workers. As a result, the national or state unemployment rate may not fall for months after the economy starts a recovery.
— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 ext. 326 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com
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