Maine’s new jobless claims continue to drop
(The Center Square) – New unemployment claims in Maine dropped slightly last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly report.
There were 1,365 new applications for state unemployment benefits filed for the week that ended June 12 — a decrease of 288 from the previous week, the federal agency reported.
Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims — which lag behind a week but are viewed as a barometer of the unemployment situation — totalled 10,014 in the week ending June 5, a decline of 828 over the prior week.
There were 298 new claims last week for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, an increase of 146 claims over the preceding week, the federal agency reported.
Maine has distributed more than $2.2 billion in state and federal jobless benefits to about 370,000 jobless workers during the pandemic, according to state data.
The state’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped slightly to 5.3% in April after adding 1,200 jobs that month, according to the Maine Department of Labor.
That’s down from a high of 9.1% last April but still higher than the state’s average 3% unemployment rate throughout 2019.
Meanwhile, Maine businesses are struggling to fill tens of thousands of jobs unfilled as the busy summer tourist season approaches.
Gov. Janet Mills has taken steps in recent weeks to lure workers back to their jobs amid a shortage of labor as the state eases COVID-19 restrictions and reopens its economy.
The state has re-instituted a work search requirement mandating that individuals receiving jobless benefits actively look for work and accept positions for which they are “reasonably qualified.” Those who refuse to accept an offer can lose their unemployment benefits.
Earlier this week, Mills rolled out the “Back to Work” program that will provide a one-time, $1,500 payment for eligible workers who begin new jobs between June 15 and June 30, and $1,000 for eligible workers who start jobs in July.
To qualify, workers must have received unemployment compensation as recently as the week ending May 29 and accept a full-time job that pays less than $25 per hour. Workers must keep their job for at least eight weeks.
Nationally, 412,000 new jobless claims were filed in the week that ended June 12, an increase of 37,000 claims from the previous week, according to the labor department.
That’s the lowest level for new claims since the week of March 14, 2020, the federal agency said.
Continuing claims rose by 1,000 to 3.5 million nationally for the week that ended June 5.
Despite the improving economic conditions, more than 14.8 million Americans were still receiving state or federal jobless benefits in the week ending May 29, the agency reported.
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