The greater Portland area—extending from Kennebunk in the south to Freeport in the north—continues to account for most of the job growth in Maine over the past seven years, according to MECEP analysis of metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment figures released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Since the Great Recession officially began in December, 2007, the Portland metropolitan area has added about 2,900 jobs, while the rest of the state has lost about 11,800.
Portland’s jobs recovery is comparable to the recovery in the nation as a whole, while Maine as a whole ranks near the bottom among states. The Portland area returned to pre-recession employment levels last spring, reaching the milestone at about the same time as the nation. Meanwhile, Maine has about 611,800 jobs, which is still well short of the 620,700 it had in December, 2007, at the start of the recession.
