Maine business owners brace for summer hiring season amid uncertainty [Video]

Kristin Okerholm is used to recruiting workers, both in a thriving summer job market and a faltering one.

But she’s not quite sure how to plan for the uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the fact that Canadians, usually a boom to tourism, have threatened to boycott Vacationland this summer.

“The world’s a little different,” said Okerholm, 49, of Yarmouth, who has worked as a recruiting coordinator for L.L.Bean since 2007. “So, we’re all wondering what’s going to happen next. We’re preparing for every situation that can come.”

The same uncertainty Okerholm feels is rippling across the region, from high school kids seeking a summer paycheck to business owners trying to balance their needs for the next 15 weeks. On paper, the job market seems to be holding steady, with Maine’s unemployment rate at 3.5%, just slightly higher than 3.3% heading into last summer.

But local teenagers say they’re struggling to land jobs. Some wonder …