Unemployment rate dips to 3 percent in Maine

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - The Maine Department of Labor says the state’s unemployment rate dipped to a record low based on preliminary figures for July.

Officials say the seasonally adjusted rate was 3%. That would be a record unless the final, official figure is adjusted. July’s preliminary unemployment rate was down from 3.4% in the same period a year ago.

Maine’s unemployment rate has been below 4% for 43 consecutive months, the longest period on record in the state.

Maine’s July rate matched that of New England at 3%. The rates were 2.1% in Vermont, 2.5% in New Hampshire, 2.9% in Massachusetts, 3.5% in Rhode Island and 3.6% in Connecticut.