Maine now has the least amount of government workers and highest private sector workforce ever

Maine’s unemployment rate continues to be headed in the right direction and Friday, the Maine Department of Labor released the latest numbers showing it has now reached a new historic low.

According to the Maine DOL: “The preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.0 percent for March was the lowest on record since the current estimation methodology was implemented in 1976.”

In addition, Maine now has the lowest percentage of state government workers since 1976 and the highest number of private sector workers – ever.

“This historic good news doesn’t just happen,” said House Republican Leader Ken Fredette of Newport. “Governor LePage and House Republicans have fought to lower taxes and reduce the size of state government for the past six years and we will continue to do that heading into this next budget cycle. It is up to us to continue laying the groundwork for economic prosperity while putting a stop to out of control state government spending.”

“While this is great news, House Republicans believe we still have a lot more work to do,” said Assistant House Republican Leader Rep. Ellie Espling of New Gloucester. “Now more than ever we need to stay the course and that means passing policies that continue to move Maine in the right direction. Our focus is on implementing a 2-year budget that reduces the overall tax burden on all Mainers and continues to promote this type of job growth.”