In my previous blog about Maine’s population growth (or lack thereof), I alluded to data that would highlight the economic woes of Maine’s young people.
The chart below is from the Maine Department of Labor and it shows the unemployment rate broken down by major age group between 2000 and 2010. As you can clearly see, in 2010, the highest unemployment rates are for those between the ages of 16 and 19 (21.8 percent), 20 to 24 (15 percent) and 25 to 34 (9.4 percent). Naturally, these are Maine’s young families and this economic distress is falling the hardest on their shoulders.
This may also be why the most recent data from the Internal Revenue Service is now showing a net out-migration of taxpayers. This is an important metric because these young folks, i.e., taxpayers, are just beginning their productive careers and the lack of opportunity may be forcing them to find greener pastures.