AUGUSTA (AP) – Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman says March was another tough month for Maine workers as the state recorded a preliminary unemployment rate of 8.1 percent. That’s higher than the revised 7.8 percent rate for February.

Fortman said Friday that the global recession continued to take a toll on the Maine economy in March, even though the state’s unemployment rate tracked slightly below the national rate of 8.5 percent. Maine lost 2,600 jobs during the month, led by losses in construction, manufacturing, retail trade and professional and business services.

The Labor Department says that between March 2008 and March 2009, the number of nonfarm wage and salary jobs fell by 17,000 in Maine.

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