The local economy of Maine and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
3.2%
August 2026, 3.3% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,327
Q1 2026, 629,100 jobs
New homes permitted
6,830
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+6,390
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Maine, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Maine is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Maine was 3.2% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 3.3% a year earlier. 675,001 people were employed out of a labor force of 697,441. Among its counties, Cumberland County had the lowest rate (2.6%) and Piscataquis County the highest (4.8%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Maine was $1,327 in Q1 2026, up 3.5% from a year earlier, across 629,100 jobs at 67,483 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 518 new homes in Maine in August 2026 (453 single-family and 36 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 4,769, up 5.8% from the same months last year, and 6,830 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Cumberland County (2,165), York County (1,372), Penobscot County (510) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 32,155 people moved to Maine and 25,765 moved away, a net gain of 6,390 (+5.8 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Florida, and most people who left went to Massachusetts, Florida, New Hampshire.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Maine. In its region, New England, regular gasoline averaged $4.37 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.