In Case You Missed
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Our last newsletter included the release of Maine state and county population projections, an article on Maine's tourism-related industries, 2010 Census decennial count participation rates, and Census Highlights. If you missed a previous newsletter, archived versions are available on our website. |
Meet the Team
Michael LeVert is the State Economist. Michael manages the
Economics and Demographics team and sits on the State's Revenue Forecasting
Committee. He holds a Master's Degree in Resource Economics from the University
of Massachusetts Amherst and a Graduate Certificate in Statistics from the
University of Southern Maine. Before joining the State Planning Office, Michael
worked as an economist and statistician in the private sector. His interests
include leveraging Maine's Quality of Place as an economic development
strategy. Michael lives in Cumberland with his wife Fonda and daughter Robin.
Amanda Rector serves as the Governor's Liaison to the Census Bureau,
staffs the Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission, and works on
special research projects. Prior to joining the SPO Economics and
Demographics team in 2007, Amanda worked at the Maine Department of
Labor, Division of Labor Market Information Services. Amanda has a BA
in Economics from Wellesley College and a Master's degree
in Public Policy from the Muskie School at the University of Southern
Maine. She is originally from mid-coast Maine and now lives in Union.
Joel Johnson holds a Master's Degree in Resource
Economics and Policy from the University
of Maine, where his research interests
included environmental valuation methods, international trade, and
socioeconomic disparities across Maine. The latest addition to the SPO Economics and
Demographics Team, he most recently completed a NOAA Coastal Management
Fellowship with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. He is also an outdoor enthusiast and
Registered Maine Guide.
Thomas Merrill coordinates the Maine State Data Center as a geographer and computer scientist with an undergraduate degree from the University of Maine at Farmington and is pursuing a Master's degree in Regional Economic and Social Development at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He has previous experience and continuing interest in financial education, Geographical Information Science, and database/CMS development. Thomas is a native of central Maine. |
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Greetings from the Economics and Demographics Team!
Welcome to the latest edition of the Economics and Demographics newsletter from the Maine State Planning Office. If you have received a text version and would like to see the full version, please visit our website. Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions. |
Renewable Energy Earns Increasing Attention In Part 5 of their MaineBiz series of Maine's important industries,
Michael LeVert and Chuck Lawton examine the budding renewable energy sector. "All the activity that has arisen over the past several years about building
new electricity generation facilities derives from one of three sources: concern
for the environmental effects of using fossil fuel, concern for the volatile
and generally rising prices of fossil fuels, and the desire to export more
electricity. In this article, we'll ask those involved to explain what they're
trying to do and assess the impacts of these efforts on the Maine economy."
This article explores wind, solar and tidal technologies, grid improvements,
and siting issues as part five of a six-part MaineBiz series exploring what Maine's biggest industries need
to prosper. Links to the other articles in the series are available here. |
Maine Coastline Population Trends
Maine has 3,500 miles of coastline with iconic rocky
beaches, lighthouses, and island views. Coastal Maine's physical features have
remained much the same over time. But what about the population? The Economics and Demographics Team recently released a summary of Maine coastline population trends based on the US Census Bureau's report
Coastline Population Trends in the United States: 1960 to 2008.
The report examines the changes in population that have occurred in the
coastline counties of the United States. Coastline counties are those adjacent
to water classified as either coastal water or territorial sea. Eight of
Maine's 16 counties are considered coastline: York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc,
Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock, and Washington. In 1960, 45.4% of Maine's population lived within the
coastline counties. The Census Bureau's 2008 estimate has 54.2% of Maine's
population living in coastline counties. This increase of 8.8 percentage points
is the highest of the 23 states in the nation with coastline counties. On average, Maine's coastline counties are more densely
populated than its non-coastline counties. Cumberland County was the most
densely populated county in Maine in both 1960 and 2008 (218.7 and 330.4 people
per square mile, respectively), while Piscataquis County, a non-coastline
county, was the least densely populated (4.4 and 4.3 people per square mile in
1960 and 2008, respectively). Washington County, known as "Downeast Maine," was
the least densely populated of the coastline counties, with 12.8 people per square
mile in 1960 and 12.7 people per square mile in 2008. Maine's coastline population has been growing since the
1960s. More people have been moving to the coastline counties than to the
non-coastline counties. From 2000 to 2008, Maine's coastline counties had an
average net migration of 3,044 while the non-coastline counties had an average
net migration of 1,284. When data from the 2010 Census are released, we'll know
whether this pattern has continued during the economic challenges of the past
few years.  Photo credit: Joel Johnson |
May Taxable Retail Sales
The Economics and Demographics Team reports monthly retail sales information on its website. Timely
information on retail sales provides an up-to-date picture of Maine's economy. Many businesses use it to gauge their market
strength and find new sales opportunities. Public officials use it to estimate revenues. Economists use it to project income and
employment growth. Total taxable retail sales in May 2010 were up 2% from May 2009.
Sales in all categories of stores were higher in May 2010 than in May
of 2009. Auto/Transportation and Lodging sales both rose 3.6% this
month over the same month a year ago. Sales for the last five months,
January through May, are 3.4% higher than the same time period a year
ago.  Source: Maine Revenue Services, 7/14/2010
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State Data Center News
Maine's Source for Census Data
| 2007 Economic Census Snapshot
The Economic Census is a major source of facts about the
structure and functioning of the nation's economy. Conducted by the Census
Bureau every five years, it provides essential information for government,
business, industry, and the general public. Economic Census data may be used
by: -
Policymaking
agencies to monitor economic activity and assess the effectiveness of
policies.
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Governments
to assess business activities and tax bases within their jurisdictions and to
develop programs to attract business.
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Trade
associations to study trends in their own and competing industries, which
allows them to keep their members informed of market changes.
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Individual
businesses to locate potential markets and analyze their own production and
sales performance relative to industry or area averages.
The establishment and employment summary
provides a snapshot illustrating the mix and relative sizes of the different
sectors in Maine (excluding agriculture and public administration, which are
not included in the 2007 Economic Census). According to the 2007 Economic
Census, the Health Care and Social Assistance sector accounts for 21.8% of
Maine employees and 23.4% of Maine's annual payrolls within the industrial
sectors covered by the Economic Census. The next largest sector by number of
employees is Retail Trade with a 17.4% share of the total number of employees
in the state, but Retail Trade accounts for only 12% of annual payrolls. The
Manufacturing sector employs 12.3% of employees tracked by this survey, yet
accounts for 16% of annual payrolls. For more information on the 2007 Economic Census, visit the Census Bureau's website.  |
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Census State Data Center Highlights
Census Bureau Director Reports 2010 Census on Schedule, Under Budget -- The 2010 Census is on schedule and significantly under budget but not fully completed. The Census Bureau systematically re-interviews 5 percent of all the households visited by census takers and makes certain that there are no missing or double-counted individuals. As the nation experiences one of the highest vacancy rates in recent years, the vacant/delete check operation requires census workers to visit households that were listed as vacant to ensure that no individual has been left out.
In July 2010, Census Bureau field representatives will begin collecting information about how much Americans spend for groceries, clothing, transportation, housing, health care, and other items from a sample of households across the country as part of the Consumer Expenditure Survey. During the year, about 15,000 households will be interviewed each quarter to obtain data on relatively large expenditures, and another 12,500 households will be asked to keep two consecutive one-week diaries of smaller, more frequent purchases.
Updated estimates of the nation's housing stock at the national, state, and county levels for 2009 are now available at the Census Bureau's Estimates website. Housing units in Maine increase 7.84% between 2000 and 2009, and growth slowed to 0.26% between 2008 and 2009.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that national Travel and Tourism Spending turned upwards in the first quarter of 2010. Real spending on travel and tourism increased at an annual rate of 3.9% the first quarter of this year, following a decrease of 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2009.
A Census publication, Dynamics of Economic Well-Being, investigates Spells of Unemployment by highlighting data on how often and how long U.S. residents were unemployed between January 2004 and the official start of the recession in December 2007. The data are presented by a variety of demographic characteristics including race, Hispanic origin, sex, age and educational attainment.
The report Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008 examines levels of voting and registration in the most recent presidential election, the characteristics of citizens who reported either registering or voting in the election and the reasons why some registered individuals did not vote.
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