Unemployment Rate Spikes in Rhode Island
Friday, December 16, 2011
The unemployment rate has increased for the first time in two years, up one-tenth of a point in November, according to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.
At 10.5 percent, the state unemployment rate sits nearly two points higher than the national average, but the rate is down a full percentage point from November 2010, representing the 14th consecutive month of year-over year decrease.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.6 percent in November has continued to decrease, down four-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month and down one and two-tenths percentage points from November 2010.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRhode Island’s increase also comes in the same month that Massachusetts reported its lowest unemployment rate since 2008, dropping to just 7 percent. The Bay State added 5,000 jobs last month.
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed RI residents increased by 500 over the October figures, rising to 59,200 in November, the first over-the-month increase since March 2010. Over the course of the last year, the number of unemployed RI residents dropped by 7,000.
Employment Up
The number of employed RI residents increased 400 over the October figures, totaling 503,300 in November, the second consecutive over-the-month increase in the number of employed. Over the year, the number of employed RI residents was down 7,500 from November 2010.
The RI labor force totaled 562,500 in November 2011, up 900 from October but down 14,600 from November 2010 estimates. The labor force increase (+900) was due to the increase in the number of employed (+400) combined with the increase in the number of unemployed (+500). This is the second consecutive month that the RI labor force has increased, following nine consecutive months of decreases.
RI-based jobs dropped 1,900 over the month, with the largest losses in Health Care & Social Assistance and Accommodation & Food Services, which each lost 600 jobs over the month. The Retail Trade sector lost 400 jobs.
The Construction sector continued to trend up as 900 jobs were added in November, representing the largest gain since March 2000 (+900). The increase marks three straight months of gains within the sector, totaling 1,500 jobs. Specialty trade contractors reported the largest gains, notably building finishing contractors and building equipment contractors. The Financial Activities (+200) and Transportation & Utilities (+100) sectors also experienced positive employment growth over the month.
Not in a Recession
The latest jobs numbers comes just days after URI economist Len Lardaro suggested the state’s economy is “stuck in neutral.” Lardaro ranks the economy each month and said that while the economy has failed to see growth, he is not convinced the state has entered another recession.
“While Rhode Island’s economy remains stuck in neutral overall, October’s data contain some basis for believing that things might begin to improve in the future. The critical indicator to watch is Retail Sales. Overall, though, we must abide by the most basic rule of data analysis: never make too much out of a single month’s data,” Lardaro said.
