Maine employers added an estimated 1,700 payroll jobs in September, while the state's unemployment rate edged from 3.2% to 3.3%, according to the Department of Labor's Oct. 20 report.
The seasonally adjusted payroll count reached an estimated 661,700. Private employers added 2,100 jobs while government employment fell by 400. Leisure and hospitality accounted for an estimated 1,000 of the monthly gain.
The department cautioned that seasonal adjustment, which attempts to remove recurring hiring and staffing patterns, does not always account perfectly for changes from one month to the next. Additional months of data are needed to establish a trend.
The longer view was steadier: payroll employment was only 600 jobs above September 2025. The state said its job count had stayed within about one-half of 1% of 660,000 for 29 months.
Unemployment has remained between 3.1% and 3.3% for 25 months. September's national rate was 4.2%. Maine's labor force participation rate, the share working or looking for work, was 58.5%.
The payroll and unemployment measures come from different surveys: one counts jobs at employers, while the other counts people and their employment status. The next monthly report is scheduled for Nov. 20.
Sources: Maine Labor Department release; Full September employment report.