Maine’s unemployment rate drops in January

AUGUSTA – Maine’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.4 percent in January to 3.9 percent, the King administration said.

Maine’s jobless rate also was well below January’s national rate of 5.6 percent, Labor Commissioner Valerie Landry said.

Between December and January, Maine had an increase of 1,200 nonagricultural jobs, with small gains recorded in services, trades, transportation, communication, public utilities and construction. At the same time, the state experienced a loss of 600 jobs, mostly in manufacturing, Landry said Wednesday.

Elsewhere in New England, the January unemployment rate in Vermont was 3.7 percent and in New Hampshire 4 percent. The unemployment rates are adjusted to account for seasonal fluctuations in the labor market.