RI Workers Are Ranked 49th for Hard Work

RI Workers Are Ranked 49th for Hard Work

A new study paints a bleak picture of the Rhode Island workforce.

Rhode Island workers rank 49th for hard work — only West Virginia ranks lower.

The study's findings are consistent with Bryant Professor of Economics Matthew Tebaldi who wrote in a recent column published in GoLocal, "The state’s population is not only getting older, but it also lacking the skills needed to succeed in the digital economy, thus further investment in a well-educated population is crucial. Rhode Island’s labor force is suffering from the fact that, like much of the country, our population is stagnant and aging. And unlike our peers around New England, our proportion of people with at least a high school diploma is disproportionally low."

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SEE CHART BELOW OF ALL THE STATES' RANKINGS

The direct work factors used in the study by WalletHub include:

Average Workweek Hours
Employment Rate
Share of Households where No Adults Work
Share of Workers Leaving Vacation Time Unused
Share of Engaged Workers
Idle Youth (16-24)  — This metric measures the rate of residents aged 16-24 years who are neither in school nor working.

The authors say that overall, “Americans are hard workers, putting in an average of 1,780 hours per year, according to the World Economic Forum. That’s about 425 hours per year more than Germans work, but about 370 less than Mexicans do.”

"However, while it may seem as if workers are happily pursuing the American Dream, many individuals’ reasons for working hard may not be so pleasant. Some fear that if they take time off they will look less dedicated to the job than other employees, risking a layoff. Others worry about falling behind on their work or worry that the normal workflow will not be able to function without them," reported WalletHub.

According to the report, "Hard work is key to success, and the people of some states understand that better than others. To determine where Americans work the hardest, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 10 key indicators. They range from average workweek hours to share of workers with multiple jobs to annual volunteer hours per resident. Read on for the results, insight from a panel of experts and a full description of our methodology."