The Maine Department of Labor says seasonal hiring is off to a slow start in the state this year.In the monthly employment report released Tuesday, labor officials say seasonal hiring in May was lower than normal and what had been expected by about 1,200 jobs in the hospitality and tourism-impacted industries. That includes retail, leisure and hospitality.There was also lower-than-normal hiring for federal government jobs due to reduced hiring in May at Acadia National Park.The report says the rainy weather that Maine dealt with in May, especially on weekends, reduced demand for tourism-dependent services from both in-state visitors and out-of-state tourists.”Unless data in subsequent months indicate otherwise, it appears May was an aberration and that the employment situation has not fundamentally changed since last summer,” said labor officials in a release.According to the National Restaurant Association’s 27th annual Eating and Drinking Place Summer Employment Forecast released earlier in June, restaurants in Maine will add 13,400 summer jobs for the summer, a 32.1% workforce increase from March. That is the largest proportional employment increase in the country.The statewide unemployment rate in Maine was 3.4%in May. The rate has been 3.4% or 3.5% each month since August and has been below four percent for 42 months – the second longest period since January 1976, when the current methodology was adopted.
MAINE —
The Maine Department of Labor says seasonal hiring is off to a slow start in the state this year.
In the monthly employment report released Tuesday, labor officials say seasonal hiring in May was lower than normal and what had been expected by about 1,200 jobs in the hospitality and tourism-impacted industries. That includes retail, leisure and hospitality.
There was also lower-than-normal hiring for federal government jobs due to reduced hiring in May at Acadia National Park.
The report says the rainy weather that Maine dealt with in May, especially on weekends, reduced demand for tourism-dependent services from both in-state visitors and out-of-state tourists.
“Unless data in subsequent months indicate otherwise, it appears May was an aberration and that the employment situation has not fundamentally changed since last summer,” said labor officials in a release.
According to the National Restaurant Association’s 27th annual Eating and Drinking Place Summer Employment Forecast released earlier in June, restaurants in Maine will add 13,400 summer jobs for the summer, a 32.1% workforce increase from March. That is the largest proportional employment increase in the country.
The statewide unemployment rate in Maine was 3.4%in May. The rate has been 3.4% or 3.5% each month since August and has been below four percent for 42 months – the second longest period since January 1976, when the current methodology was adopted.