NEW: Unemployment Down, but State Lost 1,200 Jobs in October
Friday, November 18, 2011
The RI Department of Labor and Training announced today that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2011 dropped one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month to 10.4 percent and down 1.1 percent from October 2010. This is the state’s lowest unemployment rate since April 2009 (10.3%).
The U.S. unemployment rate was 9 percent in October, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month and down seven-tenths of a percentage point from October 2010.
The number of unemployed RI residents decreased by 200 over the September figures, falling to 58,600 in October, the 19th consecutive over-the-month decline. Over the year, the number of unemployed RI residents dropped by 7,700.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe number of employed RI residents increased 1,300 over the September figures, totaling 502,900 in October. This is the first over-the-month increase in employed RI residents since April 2011, and the largest over-the-month increase since March 2010. Over the year, however, the number of employed RI residents was down 7,700.
Jobs Also Fell
However, RI-based jobs dropped 1,200 over the month, with the largest losses in Manufacturing. The labor force grew over the month for the first time in 2011.
The RI labor force totaled 561,500 in October 2011, up 1,100 from September but down 15,400 from October 2010 estimates. The over-the-month increase in the number of employed residents outweighed the decrease in the number of unemployed residents, causing the labor force to post its first over-the-month increase since December 2010.
Job Decline over the Year
Over the year, employment has dropped 200 from October 2010. Job declines were reported in eight economic sectors since last October, including Government (-1,200), Financial Activities (-1,000), Manufacturing (-500), Accommodation & Food Services (-400), Other Services (-300), Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (-200), Construction (-100) and Information (-100).
Retail Trade employment, on the other hand, posted the largest over-the-year gain in October, with an increase of 1,400 jobs, followed by Professional & Business Services (+1,100), Educational Services (+900) and Health Care & Social Assistance (+200). Transportation & Utilities, Wholesale Trade and Natural Resources & Mining employment remained even over the year.
