Our avowedly pro-business governor, Paul LePage, has attracted plenty of attention while battling with Democrats who control the Legislature, and sometimes with fellow Republicans, too. But governors standing for re-election are judged at least as much for their handling of the economy as for any specific legislation. And on this account, LePage supporters might want […]
jobs
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, sj-web
Maine job creation continues to lag
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage has long said that virtually everything he does as the chief executive is connected to improving Maine’s business climate and creating jobs. Within two months of taking office, LePage posted an “Open for Business” sign on Interstate 95 in Kittery — a point many people pass entering Maine. Between when […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
LePage signs bill to help veterans get civilian jobs
AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage has signed a bill designed to make it easier for veterans and their spouses to get back into civilian work following military service. Under the new law, boards, commissions or agencies affiliated with the state’s professional and financial regulations department will develop a process to expedite professional licenses […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine bill would prevent employers from discriminating against unemployed applicants
AUGUSTA — Maine job seekers would get more protections from discrimination if a bill advancing through the Legislature passes. The bill bars employers and employment agencies from advertising in print, on the Internet or in any other medium that requires current employment status as a qualification or requirement for a job. The bill calls for […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
U.S. employers add 175,000 jobs
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is adding jobs at a steady pace — enough to show strength in the face of tax increases and government spending cuts if not enough to reduce still-high unemployment. Employers added 175,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent in April, the Labor […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Local & State
Hiring signs: Maine slowly climbs back from recession
“Good help wanted.” “To me, ‘help wanted’ didn’t quite explain what I was looking for,” said Waterman, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in Sabattus. “I wanted to let people know I wanted something a little better than average; at least I wanted the person to think of themselves as being good.” He recently had a man […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Education group says Maine will need 150,000 more knowledge workers
PORTLAND — Maine needs at least an additional 15,000 highly skilled workers if the state is going to remain competitive in a global economy — a necessity the state’s education system isn’t prepared to provide, according to a report released Tuesday by America’s Edge, a national nonprofit group that focuses on education policy. Between 2008 […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
U.S. job growth pushes unemployment rate down to 7.5 percent
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy showed last month why it remains the envy of industrialized nations: In the face of tax increases and federal spending cuts, employers added a solid 165,000 jobs in April — and far more in February and March than anyone thought. The job growth in April drove down the unemployment rate […]
Posted inOur View
Manufacturing jobs, not output, have left U.S.
In 2001, Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson published a book titled “Untruth: Why the Conventional Wisdom is (Almost Always) Wrong.” In his Post column April 7, he attacked a familiar piece of conventional wisdom that we all hold near and dear — that our manufacturing economy is largely gone and its successor, a service economy, is […]