Maine’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent in April, the lowest level in nearly eight years.

The Maine Department of Labor said Wednesday that April’s rate was slightly below March’s jobless rate of 4.8 percent, and down one percentage point from the 5.8 percent unemployment rate in April 2014. The last time the unemployment rate was so low was in July 2007, the department said.

The national unemployment rate was 5.4 percent and the New England unemployment rate averaged 5.0 percent in April. New England unemployment rates ranged from 3.6 percent in Vermont to 6.3 percent in Connecticut.

The percentage of employed people out of the total population in Maine was 60.2 percent, which was above the U.S. average for the 91st consecutive month.

Among the counties, Cumberland County had the lowest unemployment rate in April at 3.7 percent and the highest was in Washington County, where the jobless rate was 8.0 percent.

The statewide rate is adjusted for seasonal variations in employment and the availability of jobs, but county figures are not adjusted.


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