Jobs and Income Data reveals return to work not affected by $600 unemployment boost There’s no relationship between expanded Unemployment Compensation payments and individuals’ likelihood of returning to work, according to two recent studies. One, by researchers at Yale University, finds that more generous UC payments are not […] James Myall Posted July 31, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Federal, Unemployment
Jobs and Income, Maine’s Economy REPORT: Cuts to Pandemic Unemployment Compensation would harm 182,000 Mainers The COVID-19 relief plan released by US Senate Republicans on July 27 would slash Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) by $400 per week, affecting approximately 182,000 Mainers […] James Myall Posted July 28, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Incomes, Unemployment
Maine’s Economy 86,000 Mainers face steep income losses if Congress doesn’t extend pandemic unemployment benefits The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic is unprecedented in our lifetimes. The urgent public health requirement that Mainers stay home as much as possible has […] James Myall Posted July 16, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Federal, Incomes, Unemployment
Maine’s Economy Tracking the economic impact of COVID-19 in Maine MECEP is monitoring several short-term indicators to track the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Maine’s economy. Sources for each indicator can be seen in the descriptions below. Indicator 1: COVID-19 cases in Maine […] James Myall Posted July 9, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Economic Security, Economy, Food Insecurity, Health Care, Housing, Medicaid, Unemployment
Health Care Black Mainers are 8 times more likely than white Mainers to be hospitalized for COVID-19 New data from the Maine Center for Disease Control shows that Black Mainers are more than eight times as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 as white […] James Myall Posted June 30, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Racial Equity
Maine’s Economy While signs of improvement appear, Maine unemployment remains at unprecedented levels While the latest data on Maine unemployment claims show some reason for hope, Maine’s unemployment levels remain at unprecedented levels three months after the coronavirus pandemic sent […] James Myall Posted June 12, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Unemployment
Health Care Black Mainers now 20 times more likely than whites to experience COVID-19 — and the disparity is growing Black and African American Mainers are now roughly 20 times more likely than whites to have contracted COVID-19, according to data released by the Maine CDC. One […] James Myall Posted June 5, 2020 Tags Coronavirus
Health Care, Maine’s Economy Job losses bring additional crisis for laid-off workers: loss of health coverage Between 72,000 and 131,000 Mainers could lose their employer-sponsored health insurance as a result of widespread layoffs spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, with as many as 31,000 […] James Myall Posted May 29, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Unemployment
Maine’s Economy Pandemic has erased one in six Maine jobs since February Maine lost nearly 106,000 jobs1 in the two months leading up to April 12 as Maine businesses laid off workers across the state because of the ongoing public […] James Myall Posted May 22, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Unemployment
Maine’s Economy Last week's expanded eligibility spurs largest UI claims spike since pandemic began Roughly 16,100 Mainers filed new unemployment claims in the week ending May 2, according to the Maine Department of Labor, representing the largest week-over-week increase in since […] James Myall Posted May 7, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Unemployment