Maine jobless rate continues to rise

AUGUSTA – For the fourth consecutive month, Maine’s unemployment rate – 4.3 percent – rose in September, an increase the King administration attributed to the souring economy.

September’s rate was 0.3 percentage point higher than the figure for August and a full percentage point higher than the rate posted for June. It was just shy of two full points higher than the record low of 2.4 percent of last March.

State Labor Commissioner Valerie Landry said Maine’s rising jobless rate reflects a national economic slowdown that was in place before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

Job losses related directly or indirectly to the attacks will begin to be reflected in data for October that will be released next month, Landry said.

But even without the effects of the terrorism, Maine’s unemployment rate, adjusted to reflect seasonal fluctuations in the labor market, has been on a nearly steady course upward since the beginning of the year.

After starting at 2.5 percent in January and February, it dropped to the record low in March, according to state Labor Department statistics. The figure nudged upward in both April and May before dropping slightly to 3.3 percent in June.

While it was at 4.3 percent in September, the jobless rate was still below the comparable national rate of 4.9 percent for the month. Other New England states reporting their seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for September include Vermont, 3.2 percent, and New Hampshire, 4.1 percent.

In figures not adjusted for seasonal labor changes, the number of nonagricultural jobs increased by 3,400 between August and September. Local government jobs increased by 11,700 as nonprofessional school employees returned to work after the summer break, and state government rose by 2,400 as nonprofessional staff and work-study students returned to college and university payrolls.

The gains were offset partially by seasonal losses in restaurants and lodging services as tourist-related activities recorded a seasonal decline. Manufacturing jobs also declined between the two months.