AUGUSTA — Maine labor officials say the unemployment rate in the state continues to hold steady, and has ranged between 3.2 percent and 3.5 percent over the past two years.

The Maine Department of Labor says the preliminary unemployment rate for June was 3.2 percent. The department says unemployment in the state has been below 4 percent for 42 consecutive months, which is the longest such period on record.

This stretch of low unemployment is almost twice as long as the last one. The state experienced a 22-month stretch of unemployment below 4 percent that ended in June 2001.

Unemployment also has held steady nationally, as the U.S. rate of 3.7 percent for June was close to the 3.6 percent for May and the 4 percent rate from June 2018. New England’s six-state estimate is 3.1 percent.

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