Employment Update: Seasonally Adjusted Statewide Labor Force Estimates

The 3.2 unemployment rate in August changed little from July. Nonfarm wage and salary jobs have remained within a narrow range for 28 consecutive months.

Seasonally Adjusted Statewide Labor Force Estimates

The 3.2 percent unemployment rate changed little from recent months. Unemployment rates have remained within a narrow range between 3.1 and 3.3 percent for 24 consecutive months. Unemployment has been below 4 percent for 56 months, the longest duration on record. Maine’s unemployment rate has been below the U.S. average for more than 18 years, and remains below the long-term average of 5.4 percent for the state since 1976. Unemployment averaged 4.1 percent for New England and 4.1 percent for the U.S. in the month.

The labor force participation rate averaged 58.8 percent over the last three months, lower than during the three months through May. A decreasing employment-to-population ratio in the three months through August is the primary reason for lower rates of labor force participation.

Seasonally Adjusted Statewide Nonfarm Jobs Estimates

Preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates indicate that in August, nonfarm wage and salary jobs were little changed from July. Employment levels were stable in every sector.

Job estimates have stayed within a narrow range near 660,000 for 28 consecutive months (estimates ranging less than 0.5 percent higher or lower each month). Over the last year, job increases in the health care and social assistance, and retail trade sectors were offset by modest decreases across several sectors

Unemployment and labor force data is available here

Nonfarm jobs data is available here

September 2026 workforce estimates will be published on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The complete data release schedule is available here.