PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine’s economy got off to one of the slowest starts in the nation this year.

The Portland Press Herald reports the Bureau of Economic Analysis released a report this week that found that Maine’s economy grew at annual expansion rate of just 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2018. This follows a jump in growth in the third quarter of 2017.

TD Bank predicts Maine’s economic growth will round out at 1.8 percent by the end of the year. However, it would still fall below the 3 percent growth rate estimated for the rest of the nation in 2018.

Experts attribute Maine’s economic issues to an aging population and low birth rates. They say trade wars could also deter the state’s growth.