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.
labor shortage
Posted inLocal & State
Augusta needs more workers to achieve city’s goals, officials say
More workers are needed for the city to achieve its goals, including spurring economic development, fostering the creation of more housing and addressing aging infrastructure.
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Posted inKennebec Journal, Local & State, News
Augusta parking garage deck closes after plow driver fails to show up
The city is seeking to recover $2,000 from Freyed Knot Tree Services after the company failed to plow Augusta’s newly renovated Dickman Street parking garage and has not responded to messages.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Seasonal worker visas expected to double, boosting Maine’s hospitality industry
U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins say they’ve worked with federal officials to secure over 64,000 additional H2-B visas to help businesses struggling with workforce shortages.
Posted inLocal & State, Schools and Education
School year in Maine begins with familiar staffing shortages
Special-education teachers are in especially short supply.
Posted inBusiness, Food & Dining, Local & State
As costs soar, some restaurants tack on fees instead of increasing menu prices
Aiming for transparency, the industry acknowledges it’s more expensive, either way. But which charge is easier for the dining public to swallow?
Posted inBusiness, Health, Local & State, Nation & World, News
With no place to go, some patients in Maine spend months in hospitals
A lack of beds and staffing at assisted living facilities and nursing homes creates an unwelcome situation that benefits neither the languishing patients nor the hospitals shouldering their care.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Labor shortage could slow Maine’s broadband expansion
A new report says Maine could soon face a shortage of as many as 4,400 workers in the industry, depending on how fast and extensively broadband access is expanded.
Posted inTimes Record
Midcoast police agencies feeling weight of widespread labor shortage
Brunswick, Topsham and Freeport are just three of dozens of communities around the state searching for police officers, thanks to a shortage that local department heads attribute to a hot labor market, generational shifts in the workforce and a negative public perception of law enforcement following George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Immigrants may hold a key to solving Maine’s labor shortage
As more people leave the state’s workforce than enter it, new Mainers may play a vital role in filling the gaps.