Counties with the highest unemployment in Maine
Despite a relatively low unemployment rate, the fear of job losses remains amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Maine using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in May 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Economists forecast a waning risk of recession and predict that the U.S. may instead be headed for an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing." Still, layoffs among major U.S. employers like Amazon to Tesla have sparked concern among Americans. What's more, unemployment has spiked in nearly half the country's states, which often indicates a looming recession, a chief global economist at Piper Sandler told Business Insider. And with sky-high prices after a period of record inflation, savings and unemployment payments may not cover basic expenses for jobless Americans for long.
For comparison, the Great Recession of 2007-09 sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.
Still, as of June 2024, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.1%, with little change from the previous month. Regional and state employment range widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state vary, ranging from just 2% in the Dakotas to 5.3% in Washington D.C.
Read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Maine.
#16. Sagadahoc County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 19,633 people (422 unemployed)
#15. Cumberland County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 167,787 people (3,904 unemployed)
#14. York County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 115,575 people (2,746 unemployed)
#13. Lincoln County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 17,179 people (423 unemployed)
#12. Kennebec County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 62,659 people (1,587 unemployed)
#11. Knox County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,120 people (520 unemployed)
#10. Waldo County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 20,684 people (547 unemployed)
#9. Hancock County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 29,224 people (753 unemployed)
#8. Androscoggin County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 54,011 people (1,494 unemployed)
#7. Penobscot County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 75,446 people (2,190 unemployed)
#6. Oxford County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 26,325 people (840 unemployed)
#5. Somerset County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 22,596 people (753 unemployed)
#4. Washington County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,809 people (489 unemployed)
#3. Franklin County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 13,384 people (505 unemployed)
#2. Aroostook County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 28,927 people (1,165 unemployed)
#1. Piscataquis County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 7,153 people (306 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
