PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The state’s unemployment rate declined slightly in May after more than tripling because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Maine Department of Labor announced Friday.
The jobless rate declined by 1.3 percentage points, to 9.3 percent. But the labor department said the unemployment estimates continue to understate the magnitude of job loss in the last three months.
The state’s streak of low unemployment ended in April, when the jobless rate jumped to 10.6 percent compared to the 3.2 percent rate in March.
Meanwhile, the number of claims for unemployment compensation that have been canceled because of fraud topped 50,000. Some legitimate claims, however, have yet to be paid.
“I am well aware that there are Maine people who are not receiving their benefits. We are working diligently to get benefits to those people,” Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman told lawmakers Thursday.
Last week’s initial claims were the lowest since the pandemic triggered mass unemployment, with about 4,850 initial unemployment claims adding to the more than 145,000 workers who have claimed jobless benefits, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The number of people collecting weekly unemployment benefits is also falling, according to the state’s latest figures.
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THE NUMBERS
Another 35 people tested positive for the coronavirus, but there were no deaths over the past 24 hours, the Maine Centers for Disease Control reported Friday.
All told, 2,913 Maine residents have tested positive and 102 have died during the pandemic, the Maine CDC said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
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