NEW: RI Unemployement Drops to Lowest Rate in 6 years
Thursday, December 18, 2014
RI Department of Labor and Training announced that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2014 dropped to 7.1 percent on December 18.
The current unemployment rate is down three-tenths of a percentage point from the October 2014 and down two and three-tenths percentage points from the November 2013 - the lowest unemployment rate since April 2008.
The rate of unemployment in the US was 5.8 percent in November 2014 which is unchanged from the previous month and down one and two-tenths percentage points over the year.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe number of unemployed RI residents—those residents classified as available for and actively seeking employment— was 39,300, down 1,600 from the October figure of 40,900. This represents the 16th consecutive over-the-month decrease and the lowest unemployment level since March 2008. Over the year, the number of unemployed dropped by 12,300.
A total of 10,127 individuals collected Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits in November 2014,* down from 10,380 a year ago. This month, UI claimants accounted for 27.6 percent of the total unemployed.
The number of employed RI residents was 514,100, down 500 from the October figure of 514,600. Over the year, the number of employed RI residents was up 14,700 from November 2013.
The RI labor force totaled 553,400 in November 2014, down 2,000 from October 2014 and up 2,400 from November 2013.
The manufacturing, construction, retail trade and wholesale trade industries all reported a gain of 300 jobs each in November, while smaller job gains were had in the arts, entertainment and recreation, information, and transportation and utilities sectors which each saw anywhere from 200-100 jobs gained last month.
*Refers to the number of new and reopened claims filed by UI beneficiaries and claims filed by those already collecting UI in the week that includes the 12th of the month.
METHODOLOGY: The unemployment figures are based largely on a survey of households in Rhode Island and measure the unemployment status of people who live in the state. Unemployment rates prior to 1976 are not recognized by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as official since the methodology used at that time is not comparable to today’s methods. The establishment employment figures are derived from a survey of businesses in Rhode Island and measure the number of jobs in the state. Rhode Island labor market information is available at www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi. Additional information on procedures for producing Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates is available on the BLS web site at http://www.bls.gov/sae/cesprocs.htm. The December 2014 labor force figures are scheduled to be released on Thursday, January 22, 2015, at 2:00 p.m.
ABOUT DLT: The RI Department of Labor and Training offers employment services, educational services and economic opportunity to both individuals and employers. DLT protects Rhode Island’s workforce by enforcing labor laws, prevailing wage rates and workplace health and safety standards. The department also provides temporary income support to unemployed and temporarily disabled workers. For more information, please call the RI Department of Labor and Training at (401) 462-8000 or visit the web site at www.dlt.ri.gov.
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