Category Archives: Jobs Report

In Maine, Coincident Index slows, but job growth remains strong

From the Philadelphia Fed: The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has released the coincident indexes for the 50 states for September 2014. In the past month, the indexes increased in 43 states, decreased in four, and remained stable in three, for a one-month diffusion index of 78. Over the past three months, the indexes increased in […]

Greater Portland leads Maine’s metro areas in job growth

ACCORDING to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning, the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford area was the only metro area to outpace the state in job growth over the past year. From the report: Unemployment rates were lower in August than a year earlier in 322 of the 373 metropolitan areas, higher in 44 […]

State’s economy continues to improve, still plenty of slack in the labor market

FROM the Philly Fed: The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has released the coincident indexes for the 50 states for June 2014. In the past month, the indexes increased in 42 states, decreased in three, and remained stable in five, for a one-month diffusion index of 78. Over the past three months, the indexes increased […]

Maine Jobs Report, Personal Income Data, and Coincident Index: Cautious Optimism

LAST week, the jobs data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Maine’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.7%, but that the economy 4,900 jobs.  While these numbers indicate steady growth, there are reasons the data should call for cautious optimism. First, the 4,900 jobs were the single biggest month-over-month increase during the […]

Maine Unemployment Rate Unchanged

FROM the BLS: Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in May.  Twenty states had unemployment rate decreases from April, 16 states had increases, and 14 states and the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate […]