New data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) breaks down how much money the average Mainer was earning in March of this year.
Weekly wages in Maine were found to be several hundred dollars below the national average, even in the state’s largest counties. Maine has also struggled to keep pace with wage growth nationwide, nearly ranking last in terms of year-over-year improvement.
Earning an average of $1,460 per week, workers in Cumberland still made over one hundred dollars less than the national average of $1,589.
Those working in Maine’s second largest county, York, earned an average of just $1,258 per week in the first quarter of this year.
Piscataquis County saw the lowest average weekly wage during this period, coming in at just $903 per week.
Cumberland County had the highest number of people working in March of this year, coming in at over 188,000, followed by York at nearly 74,000.
Compared to March of last year, York’s employment numbers represent a 1.4 percent decrease, while Cumberland’s have remained steady.
Statewide, Maine ranked 34th for its average weekly wage of $1,283, about $300 below the national average.
Wages have also grown more slowly in Maine over the past year than they have on a national scale. While average weekly earnings are up about 4 percent nationwide, Maine has seen an increase of only 2.7 percent.
This rate of change places Maine firmly at the bottom of the pack nationally, ranking 50th in terms of wage average weekly wage growth year-over-year.
