The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June, the strongest five-month showing since the late 1990s tech boom.
While that's good news, Maine 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, says there are still a lot of Mainers that have been looking for work for a long time.
"In spite of the good numbers, I meet people every day who say I am looking, I am looking in my field, I am looking for a job that makes ends meet, and I just can't find it," Pingree says.
Nationally, the economy has added more than 200,000 jobs in each of the past five months, a streak last matched during the 1999-2000 tech sector boom. Pingree says the national numbers often do not reflect what is going on in Maine, and she believes Maine's economy has a long way to go to recover from the recession.
"There might be plenty of jobs available where they are getting plenty of tourists," Pingree says, "and nothing where they lost a mill or manufacturing facility."
In June the national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent. State figures for June will not be available until later in the month, but in May, Maine's unemployment rate was 5.7 percent.
