Health care, business services hiring drives April job gains

Maine employers added 1,700 nonfarm wage and salary jobs in April, fueled by hiring momentum in health care and professional and business services.

Gains were partially offset by a decline in construction jobs, though employment in that sector remained roughly in line with year-ago levels, the latest monthly barometer from the Maine Department of Labor shows.

Maine’s unemployment rate edged down slightly to 3.1% in April, marking 52 months below 4%.

The rate compares to 3.2% in March and 3.3% in April 2025, Maine’s jobless rate has been below the U.S. average for more than 18 years and remains below the state’s long-term average of 5.4%, dating back to 1976.

Unemployment averaged 4.4% for New England and 4.3% for the U.S. in April.

Work week, salaries

The private sector work week averaged 32.7 hours and earnings averaged $33.81 an hour in April.

The work week was longest in the construction and manufacturing sectors and shortest in leisure and hospitality. Wages were lowest in leisure and hospitality and highest in professional and business services.

Among the state’s three metropolitan areas, unemployment was below the statewide average in Portland/South Portland and close to the average in Bangor and Lewiston-Auburn

The Maine Department of Labor is scheduled to release preliminary May data on Tuesday, June 23.