PORTLAND, Maine (AP) unemployment claims ticked down slightly in early March in Maine, though the coronavirus pandemic continued to have consequences for the state’s economy.

The Maine Department of Labor said Thursday it recorded about 1,500 initial claims for state unemployment insurance for the week that ended March 6. That was down from 1,700 during the previous week.

The labor department said initial claims for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance also fell slightly. A total of about 2,000 people filed an initial claim or reopened an unemployment claim, down from 2,250 the previous week, the department said.

The most recent statistics about statewide unemployment in Maine show the unemployment rate remains nearly double the figure from a year ago at 5 percent. However, continued claims for state unemployment insurance are also falling. There were about 16,000 continued claims for the week ending March 6 and 16,800 the previous week, the labor department said.