Jobless rate rises to 4.9% in Maine

AUGUSTA – The first month of the state’s new fiscal year brought mixed economic messages, as unemployment rose but Maine’s General Fund budget was well in the black.

The good and bad news was reflected in a survey released Wednesday, in which Mainers said they were upbeat about the economy in general but nervous about employment trends.

The jobless rate for July, the first month of fiscal 2004, was 4.9 percent, up from 4.5 percent in June and 4.4 percent a year earlier, the Baldacci administration said.

Maine’s unemployment rate was still well below the comparable national July rate of 6.2 percent, Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said. The figures are adjusted to reflect seasonal changes in the labor market.

Fortman said more Mainers were looking for work in July as the number of nonagricultural jobs remained about even at 605,100.

The manufacturing sector recorded the largest job loss between July 2002 and July 2003, with declines in paper, computers and electronic equipment and wood products, Fortman said. Partially offsetting the job losses were gains recorded primarily in educational and health services.

The two other northern New England states had lower seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in July, with Vermont reporting 4.1 percent and New Hampshire 4.3 percent. Massachusetts’ rate was 5.4 percent and Rhode Island’s was 5.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Gov. John Baldacci released preliminary figures showing revenues nearly $11.3 million, or 6.2 percent, above estimates in July.

Sales and use taxes were 0.7 percent above estimates and individual income taxes were nearly 17 percent above the anticipated figure for the month, while corporate income taxes were 56 percent below estimates.