Introduction
How should we measure Maine’s economy?
An economy is strongest when it works for everyone. That means everyone has a fair shot at success, everyone’s contributions are rewarded fairly, and a good living standard is available to people of all backgrounds — regardless of race, location, or family background.
As we near the end of the decade, two seemingly contradictory facts about Maine’s economy come into focus: At a topline level, Maine’s economy is growing. But for many Mainers, that growth is not translating into greater economic security.
In State of Working Maine 2019, Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) seeks to understand this contradiction by going beyond topline indicators such as wage growth and labor-force participation to get a better sense of workers’ lived experiences in Maine’s economy. MECEP commissioned a Worker Experience Survey to gather new state-level information about working conditions in Maine that is not available from traditional data sources such as the US Census Bureau or State Department of Labor.
The survey reveals that while Maine workers have a generally positive view of the state’s employers, they continue to struggle with jobs that offer limited benefits or protections. And while small businesses play a central role in Maine’s economy, their employees are more likely to experience poorer working conditions and benefits than employees at larger firms. Many workers face unpredictable hours, a highly seasonal job market, and wage payment policies and practices that undercut their earnings.
Race and ethnicity are also important factors in how workers experience Maine’s economy. Mainers of color are paid less than their white peers, but racial disparities in economic conditions are more widespread than wages alone reveal. People of color are more likely to work in lower quality jobs, with worse working conditions, fewer benefits, and less predictable schedules than those jobs held by whites. MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey also reveals that people of color face discrimination on the job far more often than what is suggested by official records. It comes as no surprise then that this group is almost two and half times more likely than whites to be dissatisfied with their employers.
The good news is Maine’s economy is not governed by unknowable and unalterable forces. As recent efforts to increase the minimum wage and increase access to paid time off reveal, it is possible to raise standards and boost job quality for more Maine workers. A key challenge in doing so is to ensure all workers — regardless their race or gender, where they work, or how much they currently earn — benefit from a growing economy and see real improvements in their ability to provide for their families.
Policies that pass that test are already popular. The Worker Experience Survey indicates that proposals such as greater protections against wage theft, expanded overtime, paid family and medical leave, and fair scheduling earn overwhelming approval from workers of all backgrounds.
Together, these policies would raise the floor for job quality in Maine, and improve workers’ standard of living. This year’s State of Working Maine report provides insight into Mainers’ lived experience in today’s economy. Its revelations support an agenda that would raise the floor for job quality, and improve Mainers’ standard of living.
The State of Maine’s Economy
Growth brings prosperity for some, instability for others
Several traditional indicators suggest Maine’s economy is improving and growing.
- Maine’s Gross Domestic Product finally recovered to its pre-recession level.1 While it took Maine’s GDP five years longer to recover than the nation’s as a whole,2 Maine’s economy since 2016 has grown steadily at an average pace of 1.5 percent annually.3 This puts Maine on par with regional growth of 1.6 percent,4 but still leaves the state below the national average of 2.4 percent.
- The unemployment rate remains low, averaging 3.2 percent in the 12 months ending September 2019.5 More Mainers are working than ever before.6 Since 2015, Maine has reversed its multi-year trend of declining labor-force participation among prime-age adults (those between 25 and 54 years old).7
- Earnings are on the rise in Maine, particularly for Mainers at or near the bottom of the income scale. Median real annual earnings increased to just under $33,000 in 2018 — the highest since at least 2005, even after accounting for inflation.8 Those in the bottom one-fifth of the income scale saw earnings increase by 17 percent in real terms between 2016 and 2018. Those in the next one-fifth saw earnings grow by 15 percent in the same period.9 This growth outpaced national averages, likely as a result of Maine’s minimum wage increases.
- Poverty rates are declining in Maine. By 2018, the share of households with income below the federal poverty line was 12 percent, down from 14 percent in 2014.10 Poverty declined even more significantly for Black Mainers.11
Many of these improvements in Maine’s economy track similar trends at the national level. But while GDP growth, low unemployment, increasing wages, and declining poverty rates are welcome developments for working Mainers, grading the state’s economy on those indicators alone masks disparities, volatility, and uncertainty that persist in much of working Maine.
For example, Maine’s economy continues to work better for white workers and men than for people of color and women. While unemployment is down across the board, workers of color in Maine are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than their white counterparts.12 Prime-age labor force participation — the share of 25 to 54-year-olds working or seeking work — was 8 percentage points lower for workers of color in 2018 than for white workers.13 While disparities are shrinking, women continue to earn less than men in Maine.14
Increasing wages and a tight labor market also hide the tenuous situation faced by many Mainers who live paycheck-to-paycheck at a time of growing economic inequality and rising costs of living. Four out of every ten Maine adults in 2018 reported that they did not have the cash reserves to pay a $400 unexpected expense.15 One in five adults can’t pay all their bills in full each month.16 Under these conditions, the recent gains in earnings are just a small step toward helping workers escape economic insecurity.
Chart 1
Maine’s lowest earners have seen major gains since 2016
Meanwhile, the highest-paid households are accumulating a far larger share of the gains from our growing economy than low- and middle-income households. In 2018, the highest-earning 5 percent of American households captured almost a quarter of the total income earned in that year.17 Even in Maine, where the inequality is less severe, the top 5 percent of households captured 21 percent of all Maine income.18
Growing inequality and the persistence of economic insecurity, even during a period of growth and low unemployment, shows that there is more going on in Maine’s economy than meets the eye. Because the majority of Mainers experience the economy most directly through their job, identifying the solutions necessary to create a stronger and more inclusive economy requires a deeper look at Mainers’ experience in the workplace.
Chart 2
Maine’s highest-earning households captured nearly half of all income in 2018
MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey: Methodology
To get a better sense of workers’ lived experience in the Maine economy, MECEP commissioned a Worker Experience Survey, conducted by ALG Research and administered to 450 Mainers who are currently working in the private sector or who had worked in the past year. The survey gathered new state-level information about working conditions in Maine that is not available from traditional data sources such as the US Census Bureau or State Department of Labor.
The survey included an oversample of people of color in Maine,19 allowing for more reliable analysis regarding the experience of non-white Mainers in the workplace. The survey was conducted from September 12 to 22, 2019, and included responses via landline (16 percent of respondents) and mobile phones (84 percent of respondents).
Complete survey results can be found in Appendix A.
The survey was divided into three parts:
- The first part surveyed workers’ sentiment regarding employment in Maine. This included satisfaction with employers and working conditions, opinions of what made for a “good job,” and views on employment-related issues that affect workers and their families.
- The second part assessed working conditions and specific indicators of job quality. These include questions regarding scheduling, benefits, discrimination, and other quantifiable questions of worker experiences.
- The third part polled support and opposition for specific policies to protect workers and increase standards of living, such as stronger laws against wage theft, increased overtime protections, a statewide paid family and medical leave program, and fair scheduling requirements.
Key Finding One
Mainers like their employers, but want higher-quality jobs
MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey reveals in the workforce a high satisfaction with employers in the state, with nearly nine in ten respondents saying they had a favorable view of their own employers and of employers in Maine more broadly.
The overwhelmingly positive view of employers, however, belies the fact that workers see room for improvements in their working lives.
Majorities of survey respondents identified low pay, costly health insurance, and the lack of jobs that can attract young people to Maine and keep them here as serious concerns for the state. A large percentage of respondents also identified the lack of year-round jobs with predictable hours as a problem in the state, as well as jobs that do not offer time off.
Maine workers also indicated broad support for state-level policies to address what they see as shortcomings in the quality of Maine jobs. Support for mandated benefits was overwhelming among respondents, including expanded overtime protections (70 percent support) and employer-funded paid family and medical leave (78 percent support). Statewide policies to address wage theft and make scheduling fairer and more predictable also yielded majority support. This support cut across party lines, with majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and independents in support of each measure.
These seemingly contradictory findings — high satisfaction with employers in Maine despite desire for improved working conditions and support for policies to achieve them — may be explained in part by workers’ experience with on-the-job benefits. MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey revealed significant dissatisfaction with the quality of and access to benefits in Maine, even among those workers who nominally have access to the benefits in question.
The most glaring example of this phenomenon is workers’ experience with employer-sponsored health insurance. One-quarter of respondents with health insurance said they were dissatisfied with it. Among the 78 percent of respondents with coverage through work, one-third said improving their health care plan would be the best thing their employer could do to improve working conditions.
This dissatisfaction highlights the distinction between nominal health insurance coverage and access to affordable care. Almost 75,000 Mainers with health insurance coverage still miss or delay a doctor’s appointment because they can’t afford it.20 There are also large numbers of Mainers for whom the premiums on their employer-sponsored plan are too high. In 2018, the average low-wage worker in Maine, earning around $23,000 per year, had to pay $7,502 in premiums for a plan with family insurance coverage.21
There are other instances in which Mainers have nominal access to benefits but are either practically unable to use them, or for whom the benefit is not strong enough.
Nine out of ten survey respondents reported having access to either paid sick time or paid vacation time. However, between one-quarter and one-third of those with paid time off said they didn’t use some or all of their leave because they feared employer retaliation or because their employer made it too difficult to use.
The passage of a statewide paid time off law in 2019, which will go into effect in 2021, will offer additional protections to workers who currently lack paid time off, and to those who have leave but can’t currently use it. However, the law will not cover all workers. Excluded categories include seasonal workers, 56 percent of whom have no paid sick time, and workers in businesses with fewer than 10 employees, half of whom also lacked paid sick time.22
Six out of ten survey respondents had access to some form of paid family and medical leave through their employer. Because the survey did not distinguish between different types of family and medical leave, this likely includes workers whose leave is limited to specific circumstances — such as maternity leave only or short-term disability coverage for the employee, but not for members of their family.
National data shows that not all leave is created equal, and not all employees of
a company that offer leave have access to a policy that covers a variety of family circumstances. For example, according to a 2012 federal audit of leave policies throughout the country, only 22 percent of workers were employed at a business that provided maternity leave to all employees. But only 9 percent were employed at a business that provided access to paid paternity leave to all its employees.23
Among survey respondents with access to some form of paid family and medical leave, most are limited to less than 20 weeks. The International Labor Organization recommends a minimum of 18 weeks’ paid leave, while the World Health Organization recommends at least 26 weeks of leave for new parents to promote infant health.24
The question of how to square Mainers’ overwhelming satisfaction with their employers with significant levels of dissatisfaction with workplace conditions requires further public opinion research. It’s possible, however, that these two findings reveal a sense of low expectations on the part of workers. Employees may not see it as possible – or even appropriate — for their bosses to improve working conditions or benefits on their own. Indeed, the overwhelming majority support among Mainers of all backgrounds for statewide policy solutions to these concerns, discussed in further detail later in this report, demonstrates a desire for guaranteed improvements to job quality independent of individual employers’ practices or relationships with their employees.
Chart 3
Paid family and medical leave among private-sector workers
Note: Results after excluding respondents who were “not sure” about their own access to paid family and medical leave or their employer’s policy.
Key Finding Two
People of color endure worse working conditions, fewer benefits
The lived experience of working in Maine varies greatly between individuals and groups. One of the biggest disparities exists between whites and people of color.
Racial disparities in wages and other economic outcomes have been well-documented,25 including here in Maine. MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey reveals that those outcomes are caused at least in part by the fact that people of color in Maine are likely to work in jobs that offer worse working conditions, fewer benefits, and less predictable schedules than jobs occupied by whites.
While large majorities of workers from all races were satisfied with how their employers treated them as an employee, workers of color in Maine were roughly two and a half times more likely to be dissatisfied than whites. That disparity was repeated in the share of people of color who said they were dissatisfied with their benefits and workplace policies.
Higher levels of dissatisfaction are linked to worse treatment in the workplace for Mainers of color, who are more likely to fear retaliation for using paid leave, more likely to have worked more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay, and more likely to experience discrimination from their employer.
Workers of color also have less access to some workplace benefits. They are less likely to have access to an employer-sponsored health care plan, or to at least 12 weeks of paid or unpaid family and medical leave. Mainers of color are also more likely to be hourly workers with irregular schedules set by their employer. Among those who are in this position, Mainers of color are likely to get less notice of their schedule, and any changes to it. (See charts).
The persistence of unequal working conditions for people of color is inextricably linked to a long history of explicit and implicit laws and policies that privileged white workers and laid the foundations for disparities in economic outcomes that we see today.26
This dissatisfaction highlights the distinction between nominal health insurance coverage and access to affordable care. Almost 75,000 Mainers with health insurance coverage still miss or delay a doctor’s appointment because they can’t afford it.20 There are also large numbers of Mainers for whom the premiums on their employer-sponsored plan are too high. In 2018, the average low-wage worker in Maine, earning around $23,000 per year, had to pay $7,502 in premiums for a plan with family insurance coverage.21
There are other instances in which Mainers have nominal access to benefits but are either practically unable to use them, or for whom the benefit is not strong enough.
Nine out of ten survey respondents reported having access to either paid sick time or paid vacation time. However, between one-quarter and one-third of those with paid time off said they didn’t use some or all of their leave because they feared employer retaliation or because their employer made it too difficult to use.
The passage of a statewide paid time off law in 2019, which will go into effect in 2021, will offer additional protections to workers who currently lack paid time off, and to those who have leave but can’t currently use it. However, the law will not cover all workers. Excluded categories include seasonal workers, 56 percent of whom have no paid sick time, and workers in businesses with fewer than 10 employees, half of whom also lacked paid sick time.22
Six out of ten survey respondents had access to some form of paid family and medical leave through their employer. Because the survey did not distinguish between different types of family and medical leave, this likely includes workers whose leave is limited to specific circumstances — such as maternity leave only or short-term disability coverage for the employee, but not for members of their family.
National data shows that not all leave is created equal, and not all employees of
a company that offer leave have access to a policy that covers a variety of family circumstances. For example, according to a 2012 federal audit of leave policies throughout the country, only 22 percent of workers were employed at a business that provided maternity leave to all employees. But only 9 percent were employed at a business that provided access to paid paternity leave to all its employees.23
Among survey respondents with access to some form of paid family and medical leave, most are limited to less than 20 weeks. The International Labor Organization recommends a minimum of 18 weeks’ paid leave, while the World Health Organization recommends at least 26 weeks of leave for new parents to promote infant health.24
The question of how to square Mainers’ overwhelming satisfaction with their employers with significant levels of dissatisfaction with workplace conditions requires further public opinion research. It’s possible, however, that these two findings reveal a sense of low expectations on the part of workers. Employees may not see it as possible – or even appropriate — for their bosses to improve working conditions or benefits on their own. Indeed, the overwhelming majority support among Mainers of all backgrounds for statewide policy solutions to these concerns, discussed in further detail later in this report, demonstrates a desire for guaranteed improvements to job quality independent of individual employers’ practices or relationships with their employees.
Chart 4
Jobs held by workers of color provide worse benefits and schedules
Chart 5
People of color subject to worse treatment in the workplace
While many of the racial disparities we see today are embedded into our economic system over generations of policy decisions, outright discrimination also plays a role. MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey reveals that discrimination on the job is far more common than what is suggested by official discrimination complaints.
MECEP’s survey indicates that 19 percent of workers of color suffered on-the job discrimination. That rate is nearly three times the rate reported by white workers. By contrast, in 2018 the Maine Human Rights Commission received just 492 complaints — equivalent to less than 0.1 percent of the workforce.27 This discrepancy suggests that official records of complaints do not capture the true extent of discrimination at the workplace.
People of color reported higher rates of discrimination not only on the basis of race, but based on age, interactions with the criminal justice system, disability, and status as a parent.
Policy choices can bring real benefits to all working Mainers, whether white, black, or brown. Minimum wage increases have contributed to a steep decline in child poverty and significant income gains for the lowest paid workers.28 The soon-to-be-implemented statewide paid time off policy will save eligible Maine workers millions of dollars by protecting them from sudden income losses as a result of illness or emergency.
But policies that do not explicitly address racial inequalities can often perpetuate them, even if inadvertently. The causes of inequality in Maine’s jobs market are complex and historic. Creating a level playing field for all workers will require solutions tailor-made to mitigate racial inequality, including a more concerted effort to ensure workers of color are aware of their rights in the workplace and have the means and opportunity to report violations of the law where they happen, and that existing laws are being properly enforced.
A new Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Maine Tribal Populations, created by the Maine Legislature in 2019, will research the effects of past and current policies on people of color and indigenous communities in Maine. The commission’s research will make recommendations that provide concrete steps policymakers can take to reduce racial inequality in Maine.29
Key Finding three
Small-business employees less likely to receive benefits
Small businesses play a central role in Maine’s economy. They are also less likely than larger companies to provide benefits that support a high quality of life.
Around one in three of Maine’s private sector wage and salary employees work for businesses with fewer than 50 employees — approximately 160,000 Mainers.30 MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey indicates that while many small-business owners and managers enjoy good relations with their workers, they struggle to provide the same job quality as larger corporations.
Mainers who work for small companies are more likely than workers at large businesses to feel well-treated by their employers, but less likely to feel satisfied with their working conditions. For example, employees of small businesses reported experiencing discrimination at half the rate of their peers at large businesses and were slightly more likely to say their employer “cares about them,” rather than caring about maximizing their profits.
However, the generally high satisfaction level of small-business employees again masks poorer working conditions and benefits. Among Mainers who work irregular schedules, those who work for small businesses are much less likely to get notice of their schedule a week or more in advance. And workers at small companies have far lower rates of access to paid sick time, family and medical leave (paid or unpaid), and employer-sponsored health insurance.
Better benefits are a tool for attracting workers, particularly in a tight labor market such as Maine’s. But smaller scale can make it harder for employers with fewer employees to offer robust benefits, either because profit margins are small or because they lack the personnel and experience to administer the benefits. The result is a competitive disadvantage for small employers in the labor market.
Legislation at the state level can boost prosperity and quality of life for workers while leveling the playing field between large and small businesses. Policymakers could set statewide and universal standards for benefits, and potentially reduce or offset the cost of providing such benefits for smaller firms.
For example, proposals such as a state-run paid family and medical leave benefit would be especially helpful to small employers by having the state take on most of the administrative work behind the program.
This more expansive approach toward benefits and fair working conditions would help small businesses by ensuring that they are not outbid for workers by larger corporations with more resources.
Chart 6
Workers at small businesses less likely to have robust benefits
Key Finding Four
Volatile hours, unfair pay practices undermine rosy jobs picture
Volatility is pervasive in Maine’s economy. Many workers endure unpredictable hours, a highly seasonal job market, and employment that doesn’t pay workers what they are owed.
Full-time, year-round employment is considered the standard work schedule for most Americans, but 36 percent of Maine workers between 16 and 64 years old did not work a full-time, year-round schedule in 2018.31 That lack of access to full-time, year-round work leads to lower earnings and less overall economic security.
A large reason for the lack of full-time year round work is the seasonality of Maine’s economy. On average, there are 30,000 to 40,000 more workers employed every August, at the height of the tourist season, compared to January, the month with the lowest employment numbers in Maine.32
A seasonal job was the primary form of employment for 11 percent of respondents in MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey. Those workers must piece together a living through other means for the rest of the year.
In addition to seasonal employment, many Mainers also must contend with unpredictable and irregular hours. Scheduling predictability is critical for workers to maintain work-life balance and meet commitments outside the workplace, such as caring for children or other family members. But for many Mainers, schedules can vary dramatically with little notice.
According to MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey, almost one in three hourly workers have schedules that vary at least partially at the behest of their employer — with or without input from the worker. Among workers with variable schedules, one-sixth received less than a day’s notice of changes. Fully half received a week or less notice.
Workers with variable schedules experience less stability than other workers. Nationally, one third of workers with variable schedules set by their employer say they “find it difficult to get by” or are “just getting by” financially, compared to one fifth of workers with set schedules. The Shift Project at University of California, Berkeley, has documented a series of negative impacts associated with variable schedules, including psychological distress and lack of sleep, in addition to varying incomes.33
The ability to change an employee’s schedule to meet daily or even hourly demands creates labor cost savings for businesses at the expense of workers’ quality of life.
Chart 7
One-third of salaried Mainers worked unpaid overtime in past year
Other forms of labor cost-cutting are more insidious. For example, some employers have been found to ask their employees to “clock out” before their shift is done or “clock in” later than they begin working. Tipped workers have reported receiving less than the minimum wage during weeks when business is slow or customers are stingy with tips, despite the requirement that their employers top off their paychecks when tips don’t add up.
These documented practices are forms of wage theft, which is illegal. But while studies suggest it is a persistent occurrence, especially in low-wage industries, it’s been difficult to estimate the extent to which workers are subject to wage theft.
The MECEP Worker Experience Survey asked whether respondents had ever received the equivalent of less than the statutory minimum wage, including tips. Three percent of all workers and 5 percent of hourly workers indicated that they had suffered this form of wage theft. While this is a small share of the overall population, it represents approximately 15,000 workers in Maine. That’s more than the 9,000 workers estimated by MECEP in the State of Working Maine 2018, using Census Bureau data.34 In that report, MECEP estimated that those 9,000 workers lost $30 million in wages.
Salaried workers can also be unfairly made to work additional hours without pay. For more than 80 years, some categories of salaried workers have been eligible for time-and-a-half overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week. However, years of policy decisions to water down federal labor law have eroded overtime benefits for even low-level salaried workers.35
Thirty-one percent of salaried workers in MECEP’s Worker Experience Survey reported working unpaid overtime at some point in the past year, with workers at higher salaries being more likely to have done so.
Maine law requires most workers with annual incomes under $33,000 to be paid overtime. The survey reveals that 8 percent of salaried workers with annual incomes under $36,000 report working unpaid overtime in the past year. Those workers may represent individuals with annual incomes between $33,000 and $36,000 a year or salaried workers in an exempt occupation, such as federal employees or teachers.
Many Mainers with salaries above $36,000 should also be eligible for overtime pay. Employers may only withhold time-anda-half pay to workers earning above the salary threshold if they also have executive, administrative, or professional roles. However, federal law has created a loophole by making the definition of an executive, administrative, or professional employee broad and easy to abuse. Fifty-two percent of salaried survey respondents who had worked unpaid overtime in the last year described themselves in nonsupervisory or managerial roles.
Maine’s policymakers can bolster workers’ pay, despite erosion of federal wage protections, by increasing the salary threshold at which workers are automatically considered overtime eligible. In doing so, they will restore the promise of extra pay for extra work, raise wages for middle-class workers, and enable others to strike a healthier work-life balance by containing their work week to 40 hours.
Endnotes
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Quarterly Real Gross Domestic Product by State (seasonallyadjusted in chained 2012 dollars), generated by James Myall using BEA interactive data tables at https://apps.bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm (November 13, 2019). Maine’s pre-Recession high GDP was $54.5 billion in Q2 2006. In Q2 2016, GDP was estimated at $54.9 billion.
Ibid. US GDP was $15.8 trillion in Q2 2008, and next reached that level in Q2 2011.
Ibid. Q2 2016 compared to Q1 2019.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Quarterly Real Gross Domestic Product by State (seasonallyadjusted in chained 2012 dollars), generated by James Myall using BEA interactive data tables at https://apps.bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm (November 13, 2019). Data for New England.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics. Annual average employment in 2018 was 675,221, the highest annual average on record since 1976.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Expanded State Employment Status Demographic Data, https://www.bls.gov/lau/ex14tables.htm
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2005-2018 1-year data, Summary Table S2001 generated by James Myall using data.census.gov and American Factfinder at https://factfinder.census.gov/
(November 13, 2019).
MECEP Analysis of US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2016-2018 1-year data, Summary Table B20001 generated by James Myall using data.census.gov and American Factfinder at https://factfinder.census.gov/ (November 13, 2019).
MECEP analysis of US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2016-2018 1-year data, Summary Table S1701 generated by James Myall using data.census.gov and American Factfinder at https://factfinder.census.gov/ (November 13, 2019).
Ibid. Black poverty fell from 44 percent in 2016 to 20 percent in 2018, according to the ACS. The 1-year estimates for Maine have very large margins of error, so the difference, while statistically significant,
may be smaller than these numbers suggest.
MECEP analysis of US Census Bureau, Current Population Survey monthly data, 12 month averages, analysis by James Myall using DataFerrett at https://dataferrett.census.gov/ (November 13, 2019). The average unemployment rate for Mainers of color in the 12 months ending September 2019 was 6.5 percent, marking a reduction of 2.1 percentage points since the period ending September 2015, but still more than twice as high as the 2.9 percent unemployment rate among white non-Hispanic Mainers.
Ibid. Among prime-age workers, the labor force participation rate for people of color in Maine increased from approximately 72 percent in 2015 to 77 percent in 2018, a significant increase, but one which leaves them behind white non-Hispanic workers in Maine, whose prime-age participation rate averaged 85 percent in 2018
MECEP analysis of US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 3-year averages constructed from 1-year data, summary table B24042, generated by James Myall using data.census.gov and American Factfinder at https://factfinder.census.gov/ (November 13, 2019). Between 2016 and 2018, women working full-time year-round earned 83 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. That’s a significant improvement since the period between 2006 and 2008, when the ratio was just 77 percent
MECEP analysis of US Federal Reserve, Survey of Household Economics and Decision-Making, 2018 microdata, downloaded from https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed_data.htm.
Ibid.
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2018 1-year data, Summary Table B19082 generated by James Myall using data.census.gov (November 13, 2019)
Ibid.
Oversampling is a survey technique that allows for more accurate analysis of subgroups that may otherwise comprise too small a sample to draw reliable conclusions. MECEP’s survey included an oversample of n=50 for people of color, bringing the total response from people of color to n=69 of the total n=450 survey population.
MECEP analysis of US Centers for Disease Control, Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey, 2018 data generated by James Myall using the BRFSS Web Enabled Analysis Tool at https://nccd.cdc.gov/weat/#/analysis (November 13, 2019)
MECEP analysis of US Department of Health and Human Services, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2018 data, table VIII.D.2, average employee contribution for employees in the 1st wage quartile, https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/summ_tables/insr/state/series_8/2018/tviiid2.htm. Average wage within the first quartile was estimated used the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2018 annual data, generated by James Myall using QCEW data viewer at https://data.bls.gov/cew/apps/data_views/data_views.htm#tab=Tables (November 13, 2019)
The PTO law covers workers in businesses with 10 or more employees; MECEP’s survey asked if respondents worked in businesses with “fewer than ten” employees.
Klerman, Jacob A, Daley, Kelly, and Pozniak, Alyssa, “Family and Medical Leave in 2012: Technical Report,” Abt Associates Inc for US Department of Labor, September 9, 2012. https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/legacy/files/FMLA-2012-Technical-Report.pdf
Earle, Alison, and Heymann, Jody, “Paid Parental Leave And Family-Friendly Policies: An evidence brief,” United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), July 2019, https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/UNICEF-Parental-Leave-Family-Friendly-Policies-2019.pdf.
Myall, James. “Data on racial inequality shows need for solutions to advance racial justice.” Maine Center for Economic Policy. June 3, 2019. https://www.mecep.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MECEPracial-inequality-fact-sheet-FINAL.pdf.
Ibid.
Maine Human Rights Commission, “2018 Annual Report,” October 23, 2018, https://www.maine.gov/mhrc/sites/maine.gov.mhrc/files/inline-files/annualreport2018.pdf
Myall, James. “Minimum wage increase boosted paychecks, cut child poverty in 2017.” Maine Center for Economic Policy. September 24, 2018. https://www.mecep.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Minimum-Wage-Child-Poverty-092418.pdf
Disclaimer: James Myall, this report’s author, was appointed to the Commission by the President of the Maine Senate. Myall, on behalf of MECEP, had previously testified in support of the bill that created the Commission.
US Census Bureau, Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, 2016, data accessed by James Myall using American FactFinder at https://factfinder.census.gov/ (November 13, 2019).
MECEP analysis of US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2018 1-year data, Summary Table S2303 generated by James Myall using data.census.gov and American Factfinder at https://factfinder.census.gov/ (November 13, 2019).
MECEP analysis of US Department of Labor, Local Area Unemployment Statistics data, 2009-18, accessed by James Myall at https://www.bls.gov/lau/#tables (November 13, 2019). Figures represent unadjusted total employment for January and August annually
Schneider, Daniel, Harknett, Kristen, and Collins, Megan, “Consequences of Routine Work Schedule Instability for Worker Health and Wellbeing,” Shift Project. February 2019. https://shift.berkeley.edu/consequences-of-routine-work-schedule-instability-for-worker-health-and-wellbeing/.
Myall, James, “State of Working Maine 2018,” Maine Center for Economic Policy. November 2018. https://www.mecep.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/State-of-Working-Maine-2018.pdf.
Myall, James. “Maine bill to fix overtime will restore the promise of extra pay for extra work.” Maine Center for Economic Policy. March 12, 2019. https://www.mecep.org/maine-bill-to-fix-overtime-willrestore-the-promise-of-extra-pay-for-extra-work/
Respondents were asked if they supported a state law to “combat wage theft by employers by requiring employers in Maine to pay wages in a timely manner, requiring all agreements related to wages to be in writing, and increasing penalties and enforcement for employers who commit wage theft.”
MECEP Analysis of US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2016-2018 1-year data, Summary Table B20001 generated by James Myall using data.census.gov and American Factfinder at https://factfinder.census.gov/ (November 13, 2019).
