Unemployment Over 10.5% for 40th Straight Month
Friday, September 21, 2012
The state’s jobless number dipped slightly, but the unemployment rate remained over 10.5 percent for the 40th consecutive month, according to figures released by the Department of Labor and Training Friday.
At 10.7 percent, the unemployment rate has now dropped four straight months and is the lowest number since May 2007, but Rhode Island will likely continue to have the second or third highest rate in the country when all figures are released later today.
The national unemployment rate is 8.1 percent.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“It is encouraging that the state's unemployment rate has gone down by almost three-quarters of a percent from August 2011 through August 2012 while the nation's unemployment rate headed downward by one percent during the same time period,” said University of Rhode Island Business professor Dr. Edward Mazze.
Still, Mazze said the number of Rhode Islanders who have given up and left the workforce, those who are underemployed and those who have yet to find permanent work with “benefits and future” is still a major concern for the state.
“By combining the unemployment rate, the underemployment rate and those leaving the work force, this adds up to almost thirty percent of the workforce and could even be a higher percentage when we look at the state's total labor force,” he said.
The DLT reported that the number of employed Rhode Islanders was up by 600 in August and the numbers of jobs grew by 1,100, the first improvement in that category in three months.
Most of the new jobs added were in the hospitality industry, health care and assistance and educational services, three sectors of the economy dependent on seasonality and demand for services. Meanwhile, retail, professional and business services and manufacturing all lost at least 500 jobs over the month.
“When it comes to the current job numbers, the best we can say is that Rhode Island is in neutral and can go in any direction,” Mazze said. “Thankfully, it moved in a positive direction for August.”
Dan McGowan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan.
