“Maine workers are still mired in the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression”
Augusta, Maine (Friday, September 20, 2013) The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) issued the following statement from economist Joel Johnson concerning the August employment report released today by the Maine Department of Labor. The Department reported the August unemployment rate for Maine to be 7%, statistically no different than 6.9% in July 2013, or 7.3% a year ago. Maine’s unemployment rate is also statistically no different than the U.S. unemployment rate.
“There’s not much new to say about Maine’s jobs and unemployment situation, despite the release of another month’s worth of data today. Maine workers are still mired in the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression. The official unemployment rate is still well above pre-recession levels, the state trails its neighbors and the nation in job growth, and has only recovered one-third of the jobs lost as a result of the Great Recession. Today’s jobs report shows no sign of improvement in any of these indicators. Next month, we’ll get an update on the comprehensive ‘U6’ measure of unemployment-which counts workers who have given up looking for work and part-time workers who want more work but can’t find it. The U6 currently remains above 14%, and has improved little since the recession ended over four years ago. Maine has 50,000 unemployed workers actively searching for work, 10,000 unemployed workers who have stopped looking altogether, and over 40,000 part-time workers who want full-time employment but can’t find it. Unemployment remains high, no matter how it’s measured.”
“There’s not much new to say about Maine’s jobs and unemployment situation, despite the release of another month’s worth of data today. Maine workers are still mired in the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression. The official unemployment rate is still well above pre-recession levels, the state trails its neighbors and the nation in job growth, and has only recovered one-third of the jobs lost as a result of the Great Recession. Today’s jobs report shows no sign of improvement in any of these indicators. Next month, we’ll get an update on the comprehensive ‘U6’ measure of unemployment-which counts workers who have given up looking for work and part-time workers who want more work but can’t find it. The U6 currently remains above 14%, and has improved little since the recession ended over four years ago. Maine has 50,000 unemployed workers actively searching for work, 10,000 unemployed workers who have stopped looking altogether, and over 40,000 part-time workers who want full-time employment but can’t find it. Unemployment remains high, no matter how it’s measured.”
