2026 Employer Unemployment Tax Schedule to Remain at Lowest Level

November 6, 2025

For Immediate Release: November 5, 2025

2026 Employer Unemployment Tax Schedule to Remain at Lowest Level

AUGUSTA - The Maine Department of Labor today announced that the 2026 employer tax schedule, which supports the state's unemployment trust fund, will remain stable at Schedule A. Schedule A is the lowest unemployment tax schedule under the law.

State unemployment insurance is paid to eligible Maine people through the state unemployment trust fund, which is funded by employers through unemployment taxes. Unemployment taxes are assessed on the first $12,000 in wages on each employee during the calendar year. Approximately 56,600 employers in Maine pay into the unemployment trust fund based on the statutory tax rates that take into account each employer's experience rating based on their unemployment history, as well as changes to wages in Maine.

Under Schedule A, the average tax per employee who was paid at least $12,000 in wages is expected to be $267.60 per year. This represents an average increase of $14.40 per employee for the year. Each employer's experience rating is unique, therefore the tax change will vary by employer. Employers will receive correspondence with their individual tax information in December.

So far in 2025, MDOL has paid out over $107 million in state unemployment benefits to those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. As of September 2025, the average weekly benefit for the regular state unemployment program was approximately $494.63.

The balance of the trust fund is updated once a month at https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/dashboards/unemployment-claims-and-trust-fund