Maine has lost more than 20,000 employees since the pandemic started. Fixing this will take a combination of strategies and years of work.
Peter McGuire
Peter McGuire is a business reporter covering Maine trade, transportation and tourism. A proud native of the western Maine mountains, there is a good chance he’d rather be playing outside. Peter has covered local news for Maine newspapers in Oxford County, Brunswick, Waterville and Portland. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Boston University. He lives in Biddeford with his wife Stephanie and brown rescue dog named Emmy Lou.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
A wave of older workers was already headed into retirement. The pandemic worsened things.
The coronavirus exacerbated Maine’s labor shortage. Most of the people who have left the state’s workforce since early 2020 were early retirees.
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Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Where have all the workers gone? And when will they return?
Short answer: Most of them won’t. The past two years have upended the job market and created a vast labor shortage. It won’t improve anytime soon.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Travel rebound expected for Labor Day weekend
The Maine Turnpike may break traffic records set three years ago as low gas prices bring travelers back to the state.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine farmers struggle with labor shortage, push for immigration reform
Some in the agriculture industry say a bill pending in Congress includes needed reform to a widely-used seasonal worker visa program.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News, Politics
Despite secrecy, technology grant program protects taxpayer funds, experts say
The $45 million administered by the Maine Technology Institute must follow strict rules about investment.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Long-awaited cold storage warehouse to break ground Monday
Work on the massive refrigerated building at Maine’s lone shipping container terminal finally gets underway after 7 years of planning and false starts.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine’s unemployment rate heads toward record low
The state’s jobless rate hits the lowest point since the start of the pandemic and nears record lows set three years ago.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Did it work? The elusive impact of a $45 million state grant to grow jobs
The Maine Technology Institute, which awarded the taxpayer funds, makes very little data available about the investments.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Short-term rentals to be focus of new state housing commission
The legislative panel will collect data to see how much of a role short-term rentals play in the housing crunch. It also is expected to consider statewide regulation.