Unemployment Rises Again: 11.1 Percent
Friday, April 20, 2012
Tom Cruise was starring in “Jerry Maguire” the last time so few Rhode Islanders were employed, according to the latest jobs report released by the Department of Labor and Training.
The state’s unemployment rate increased to 11.1 percent in March—up one-tenth of a point from February— and only 496,100 residents were working, the report says. The national unemployment rate was 8.2 percent for March.
The number of unemployed residents increased to 62,100 in March and the state’s labor force has decreased for 23 consecutive months. The greatest amount of jobs lost in the state came in the professional and business services sector.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“It is no surprise to see a higher unemployment rate,” said Dr. Edward Mazze, distinguished University Professor of Business Administration at the University of Rhode Island. “The rate has been stuck in double digits since 2009 with little chance of improving until 2014.”
Mazze said the unemployment rate does not include those who have given up looking for a job or the thousands of Rhode Islanders who are underemployed. The underemployed are those working less hours, working for less pay and/or working at jobs below their education, skills and experience levels.
“Even with improving economic outlooks in many of the New England states, Rhode Island is still in a recessionary mode, Mazze said. “From 2006 (several years before the recession) to now the labor force and the number of employed have declined each year. We are doing something wrong when it comes to creating and retaining jobs. We have no real economic vision for the state.”
According to Mazze, there are four changes the state needs to make to help improve employment prospects:
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Better support and accountability for education at all levels, including trade education and labor-management education programs;
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A better approach to matching job skill development with job openings;
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Create a business friendly environment so businesses can operate in a more certain tax, energy cost and legislative environment;
- Create more effective economic development programs which are geared to the state's current resources and capabilities.
“It is nice to talk about the future when you are employed,” Mazze said. “For the 11.1 percent unemployed and those who left the work force as well as the underemployed, the future is now.”
