Introduction
Kennebec County vs. Maine
Kennebec County:
2022 Jobs = 81,142
2022 Percent of State = 9.25%
Maine:
2022 Jobs = 877,326
2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.41%
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Kennebec County to work are included in the employment count for Kennebec County.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wages and salaries and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Page 2 of 15
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 traces Kennebec County's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Kennebec County's total employment rose from 45,537 in 1969 to 81,142 in 2022, for a net gain of 35,605, or 78.19%.
Page 3 of 15
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 tracks Maine's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Maine's total employment rose from 443,449 in 1969 to 877,326 in 2022, for a net gain of 433,877, or 97.84%.
Page 4 of 15
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows Kennebec County's total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Maine, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Kennebec County's overall total employment growth was 78.19% over 1969-2022 trailed Maine's increase of 97.84%, and fell below the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Page 5 of 15
Total Employment as a Percent of the Maine Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the Maine Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the total employment growth of Kennebec County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Maine's statewide total employment over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than Maine's total employment, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Kennebec County's total employment totaled 10.27% of Maine's total employment, while in 2022 it totaled 9.25% thereby yielding a -1.02% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
-1.02%
=
9.25%
-
10.27%
 
   
Page 6 of 15
Kennebec County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Kennebec County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Kennebec County's total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Kennebec County's total employment grew at an annual rate of 1.11% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1988 (5.48%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1991 (-4.45%). In 2022, Kennebec County's total employment grew by 2.51%
Page 7 of 15
Kennebec County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Kennebec County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 6.
Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again shows the annual percent change in Kennebec County's total employment since 1970, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Kennebec County's annual total employment growth rate averaged 2.37%. It averaged 2.33% in the 1980s, 0.06% during the 1990s, 0.53% during the 2000s, 0.26% in the 2010s, 1.16% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Page 8 of 15
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Kennebec County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Maine and the nation. As the chart reveals, Kennebec County's average annual total employment growth outgained Maine's average throughout the 1970s (2.37% vs. 2.09%), trailed Maine's average during the 1980s (2.33% vs. 2.58%), fell below Maine's average during the 1990s (0.06% vs. 0.85%), outpaced Maine's average in the 2000s (0.53% vs. 0.49%), amounted to less than Maine's average throughout the 2010s (0.26% vs. 0.51%), and trailed Maine's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.16% vs. 1.42%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Kennebec County topped the nation over the 1970s (2.37% vs. 2.21%), outperformed the nation over the 1980s (2.33% vs. 1.88%), trailed the nation over the 1990s (0.06% vs. 1.73%), trailed the nation over the 2000s (0.53% vs. 0.74%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 2010s (0.26% vs. 1.51%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (1.16% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
1.11
2.37
2.33
0.06
0.53
0.26
1.16
2.51
 
1.31
2.09
2.58
0.85
0.49
0.51
1.42
3.28
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Page 9 of 15
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 8.
The job ratios shown in Figure 8 for Kennebec County, Maine and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Kennebec County's job ratio registered 0.48 in 1969, and 0.65 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a county tends to lower its local county job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the county tends to augment its local county job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Page 10 of 15
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 9.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 9 tracks Kennebec County's, Maine's job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.
Page 11 of 15

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Kennebec County:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
45,537
100.0
N
10.27
0.48
106.20
1970
 
46,338
101.8
1.76
10.39
0.49
108.38
1971
 
47,119
103.5
1.69
10.63
0.49
109.69
1972
 
48,403
106.3
2.73
10.70
0.48
107.18
1973
 
49,988
109.8
3.27
10.63
0.50
106.42
1974
 
50,971
111.9
1.97
10.67
0.50
105.61
1975
 
51,087
112.2
0.23
10.75
0.49
107.68
1976
 
53,173
116.8
4.08
10.68
0.51
108.22
1977
 
55,061
120.9
3.55
10.74
0.51
107.62
1978
 
56,532
124.1
2.67
10.64
0.52
105.70
1979
 
57,502
126.3
1.72
10.55
0.53
104.95
1980
 
57,487
126.2
-0.03
10.40
0.52
104.17
1981
 
56,707
124.5
-1.36
10.28
0.51
102.59
1982
 
56,523
124.1
-0.32
10.22
0.51
103.95
1983
 
57,287
125.8
1.35
10.13
0.52
104.61
1984
 
59,358
130.4
3.62
10.10
0.53
104.50
1985
 
60,794
133.5
2.42
10.03
0.55
105.10
1986
 
63,240
138.9
4.02
10.03
0.57
108.27
1987
 
66,295
145.6
4.83
10.16
0.59
110.49
1988
 
69,929
153.6
5.48
10.19
0.61
112.31
1989
 
72,236
158.6
3.30
10.30
0.63
113.70
1990
 
72,420
159.0
0.25
10.33
0.62
112.38
1991
 
69,198
152.0
-4.45
10.21
0.59
108.54
1992
 
69,067
151.7
-0.19
10.14
0.59
109.27
1993
 
69,549
152.7
0.70
10.05
0.59
109.32
1994
 
70,339
154.5
1.14
10.01
0.60
109.13
1995
 
69,987
153.7
-0.50
9.93
0.60
107.27
1996
 
70,973
155.9
1.41
9.94
0.61
108.28
1997
 
71,144
156.2
0.24
9.78
0.61
107.51
1998
 
72,060
158.2
1.29
9.63
0.62
107.75
1999
 
72,555
159.3
0.69
9.51
0.62
107.42
2000
 
74,506
163.6
2.69
9.50
0.64
108.49
2001
 
74,709
164.1
0.27
9.49
0.63
108.98
2002
 
75,154
165.0
0.60
9.51
0.63
110.39
2003
 
74,883
164.4
-0.36
9.43
0.63
109.53
2004
 
75,508
165.8
0.83
9.35
0.63
108.85
2005
 
75,744
166.3
0.31
9.36
0.63
107.38
2006
 
77,533
170.3
2.36
9.48
0.64
108.26
2007
 
78,470
172.3
1.21
9.47
0.64
108.14
2008
 
78,289
171.9
-0.23
9.51
0.64
108.76
2009
 
76,447
167.9
-2.35
9.55
0.63
110.63
2010
 
75,351
165.5
-1.43
9.52
0.62
110.43
2011
 
75,503
165.8
0.20
9.50
0.62
109.68
2012
 
75,088
164.9
-0.55
9.42
0.62
108.27
2013
 
76,182
167.3
1.46
9.48
0.63
108.97
2014
 
76,393
167.8
0.28
9.42
0.63
107.66
2015
 
76,449
167.9
0.07
9.36
0.63
106.38
2016
 
77,379
169.9
1.22
9.36
0.63
106.30
2017
 
77,878
171.0
0.64
9.33
0.64
105.65
2018
 
78,391
172.1
0.66
9.29
0.64
104.72
2019
 
78,440
172.3
0.06
9.31
0.64
104.42
2020
 
76,973
169.0
-1.87
9.47
0.62
105.52
2021
 
79,158
173.8
2.84
9.32
0.63
103.85
2022
 
81,142
178.2
2.51
9.25
0.65
101.40
Source: Calculations by the Maine Regional Economic Analysis Project (ME-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   
Page 12 of 15

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Maine:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
443,449
100.0
N
0.49
0.45
98.83
1970
 
445,896
100.6
0.55
0.49
0.45
99.88
1971
 
443,290
100.0
-0.58
0.48
0.44
98.56
1972
 
452,555
102.1
2.09
0.48
0.44
97.04
1973
 
470,180
106.0
3.89
0.48
0.45
96.48
1974
 
477,672
107.7
1.59
0.48
0.45
96.02
1975
 
475,256
107.2
-0.51
0.48
0.44
96.47
1976
 
497,868
112.3
4.76
0.49
0.46
97.82
1977
 
512,788
115.6
3.00
0.49
0.46
97.05
1978
 
531,154
119.8
3.58
0.48
0.48
96.42
1979
 
544,802
122.9
2.57
0.48
0.48
96.12
1980
 
552,745
124.6
1.46
0.48
0.49
97.78
1981
 
551,487
124.4
-0.23
0.48
0.49
97.19
1982
 
553,311
124.8
0.33
0.48
0.49
98.78
1983
 
565,243
127.5
2.16
0.49
0.49
99.82
1984
 
587,454
132.5
3.93
0.49
0.51
99.46
1985
 
606,390
136.7
3.22
0.49
0.52
100.21
1986
 
630,438
142.2
3.97
0.50
0.54
102.49
1987
 
652,556
147.2
3.51
0.50
0.55
103.03
1988
 
686,290
154.8
5.17
0.51
0.57
104.36
1989
 
701,652
158.2
2.24
0.52
0.58
104.24
1990
 
701,002
158.1
-0.09
0.51
0.57
102.70
1991
 
677,564
152.8
-3.34
0.49
0.55
100.69
1992
 
680,841
153.5
0.48
0.49
0.55
102.06
1993
 
691,753
156.0
1.60
0.49
0.56
102.81
1994
 
702,752
158.5
1.59
0.49
0.57
103.19
1995
 
704,574
158.9
0.26
0.48
0.57
102.00
1996
 
714,237
161.1
1.37
0.47
0.57
101.98
1997
 
727,238
164.0
1.82
0.47
0.58
102.25
1998
 
748,614
168.8
2.94
0.47
0.59
103.49
1999
 
762,975
172.1
1.92
0.47
0.60
104.04
2000
 
784,039
176.8
2.76
0.47
0.61
104.75
2001
 
787,577
177.6
0.45
0.48
0.61
105.46
2002
 
790,595
178.3
0.38
0.48
0.61
106.28
2003
 
794,492
179.2
0.49
0.48
0.61
106.32
2004
 
807,610
182.1
1.65
0.48
0.61
106.61
2005
 
809,340
182.5
0.21
0.47
0.61
105.23
2006
 
817,608
184.4
1.02
0.46
0.62
104.80
2007
 
828,243
186.8
1.30
0.46
0.62
104.71
2008
 
823,556
185.7
-0.57
0.46
0.62
105.03
2009
 
800,553
180.5
-2.79
0.46
0.60
106.38
2010
 
791,385
178.5
-1.15
0.46
0.60
106.63
2011
 
794,415
179.1
0.38
0.45
0.60
105.77
2012
 
796,939
179.7
0.32
0.45
0.60
105.17
2013
 
803,582
181.2
0.83
0.44
0.60
104.75
2014
 
810,909
182.9
0.91
0.44
0.61
104.01
2015
 
816,586
184.1
0.70
0.43
0.61
103.38
2016
 
826,729
186.4
1.24
0.43
0.62
103.45
2017
 
834,280
188.1
0.91
0.42
0.62
103.17
2018
 
843,918
190.3
1.16
0.42
0.62
102.50
2019
 
842,455
190.0
-0.17
0.42
0.62
101.64
2020
 
813,101
183.4
-3.48
0.42
0.60
101.23
2021
 
849,493
191.6
4.48
0.42
0.62
101.01
2022
 
877,326
197.8
3.28
0.41
0.63
99.35
Source: Calculations by the Maine Regional Economic Analysis Project (ME-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   
Page 13 of 15

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the Maine Regional Economic Analysis Project (ME-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PN
 
   
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