As overseas military threats multiply, the U.S. defense industry is looking to vastly scale up hiring and worker training, including in Maine.
Business
Local, state and national business news from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Maine’s unemployment rate hovers near record low
The 2023 rate of 2.9% doesn’t capture the whole picture, though, because many workers have left the workforce entirely in the last few years.
Value of Maine lobster fishery rebounds in 2023 despite smallest catch in 15 years
Lobstermen brought in $464 million last year, a nearly 20% jump from 2022 that was propelled by a dockside price of $4.95 per pound, the second highest on record.
Entire block of downtown Freeport to be auctioned after developer breaches mortgage
The Freeport Village Station retail center, which is valued at $32.5 million and includes an L.L.Bean outlet, is scheduled to be auctioned Wednesday as part of a foreclosure.
Bar Harbor can place a daily limit on cruise ship passengers, federal judge rules
The ruling gives the town a green light to enforce an ordinance approved by town residents that limits cruise ship passenger visits to 1,000 a day.
Proposed lithium mine in western Maine clears key hurdle
New rules recommended by the Board of Environmental Protection would allow the testing needed to build an open-pit mine over a large lithium-rich deposit at Plumbago Mountain in Newry.
Economist sees solid growth ahead, but warns of looming overseas threats, historic federal debt
Commercial real estate vacancies remain high as employees choose to work from home, and leases and mortgages face renewal at higher interest rates, a TD Bank economist said Thursday.
Fidium parent company laying off nearly quarter of customer service staff in Maine
The cutting of 12 jobs at Consolidated Communications continues what union and congressional leaders have called a ‘troubling’ trend at Maine’s largest telecommunications company.
Biden orders U.S. investigation of national security risks posed by Chinese-made ‘smart cars’
The probe could lead to new regulations aimed at preventing China from using sophisticated technology in so-called connected vehicles to track drivers.
Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge picked up last month in sign of still-elevated prices
It’s the latest sign that the slowdown in consumer price increases is occurring unevenly from month to month.