Rhode Island’s Least Employed Communities
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The state’s urban corridor remains devastated by high unemployment, but several suburban communities are also struggling to put residents back to work, according to a town-by-town analysis conducted by GoLocalProv.
The numbers, compiled from the state Department of Labor & Training’s November jobs report, show that 13 communities are stuck at or above 10 percent unemployment, including Charlestown, Tiverton and Warren. The statewide average is 10.5 percent.
Topping the list is Central Falls, whose 14.1 percent unemployment is more than one point higher than any community in the state. The cash-strapped city has actually improved compared a 15.6 percent unemployment rate last July, the month before it filed for bankruptcy.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“We're now becoming known for our unemployment more than our beaches,” said Leonard Lardaro, an economist at the University of Rhode Island.”
As of November, the Ocean State had the third highest unemployment rate in the country, a trend that has not changed much over the course of the last 24 months. Lardaro, who issues monthly reports on the state’s economy, said one of the problems Rhode Island faces is that its total jobs number peaked in December 2006, a full year before the rest of country. But employment has trended downward ever since.
Lardaro blames mismanagement by the state and its cities and towns. He said he refers to the state as “Redundancy Island” and suggested that it’s time for politicians to make serious efforts to reform the state and create jobs.
“A lot of problems are self-induced,” Lardaro said. “We never had to fall that far. There have always been solutions, but our leaders have to do something to bring them about. I feel badly for cities and towns, but not as badly as they feel bad for themselves”
Providence/Pawtucket Struggles
In Providence, unemployment has not made it below 12 percent since April 2009 and as of November, the number was 12.8 percent. The capital city has been hit particularly hard by the national recession and severe cuts in state aid and many businesses have been forced to close their doors or move elsewhere.
City Council President Michael Solomon said the city’s enormous commercial tax rate ($36.75 per $1,000 in FY2011) is a major cause of unemployment.
“A recent report commissioned by the City Council found that Providence’s commercial tax rate was 2nd highest in the country behind Detroit,” Solomon said. “Such a statistic does not help in attracting the economic development and investment needed to keep and create jobs. While our high unemployment is not the result of any one factor, we can start by working to lower the cost of having a business in this City.”
Pawtucket is no different. Mayor Don Grebien said he is hoping to address his city’s 12.5 percent unemployment rate by meeting directly with numerous business leaders to promote the city and recruit new businesses. But he acknowledges that he is still facing an uphill battle.
“It’s no secret that the city of Pawtucket, like other urban communities in Rhode Island, continues to experience high rates of unemployment, made more challenging by the difficult economy that has persisted throughout most of the nation,” Grebien said. “The only solution for unemployment is jobs. That’s why we have worked closely with partners such as the R.I. Economic Development Corp., which held a forum for small businesses in Pawtucket last week that was keynoted by Governor Chafee, and locally The Pawtucket Foundation, with whose assistance the city has created a new downtown zoning plan.”
Tiverton: 10.1 Percent
But it isn’t just the larger cities and towns struggling from high unemployment rates. In Tiverton, the rate has remained above 10 percent in all but three of the last 36 months. The November number was 10.1 percent.
State Representative Dan Gordon, who represents Tiverton, said the state’s inability to attract businesses is the key factor. He praised local leadership for making efforts to improve the town’s business climate, but said the state simply isn’t business friendly.
"The epidemic of high unemployment in the state is due to a number of factors, not the least of which is, the Gordian knot of over-regulation, high taxation, and flat growth outlook,” Gordon said. “We are simply not a state attractive to business. Regarding Tiverton specifically, I believe the people have made the right decision in the mode upon which they approve their budgets. It's a great start in improving their business climate and quality of life."
Warwick Working
According to Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, his city’s efforts to attract new business has been helpful in keeping the unemployment rate well-below the state average. At 9.5 percent, the second largest state city in the state is one of the few larger communities that has an unemployment rate below 10 percent.
“Our Department of Tourism, Culture and Development and our Planning and Building departments work cooperatively to help them with things like navigating permitting and zoning processes easily and effectively, finding suitable retail or commercial space, and addressing any issues that may arise,” Avedisian said. “New zoning regulations to help spur development in Apponaug and Conimicut villages and approval of the Warwick Station Development District will also spur job creation.”
Avedisian also pointed to several hundred new jobs created at the Warwick Mall since last summer, with the opening of places like Jordan’s Furniture, Fat Belly’s Pub and Red Robin Restaurant, and the re-opening of NYLO Hotel across the street.
“In 2012, we’re looking to increase that new economic base with additions like Nordstrom’s Rack and the Ocean State Theater and put more people back to work,” he said.
Lost Opportunity
Still, the overall picture for the state remains gloomy. Lardaro said he remains concerned that the unemployment rate doesn’t tell the entire story. He said the large number of Rhode Islanders that have simply given up looking for work as well as the self-employed residents that “have thrown in the towel on their business” might mean the number is much higher.
He blames state leadership for not doing more to help struggling Rhode Islanders.
“In crisis there is supposed to be opportunity,” Lardaro said. “Rhode Island literally threw that opportunity away.”
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