URI Economist Lardaro Says RI’s Job Market Is Far Worse Than During “Great Recession”
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
URI economist Len Lardaro warns that the state of Rhode Island’s employment numbers are far worse as a result of the pandemic than it was during "The Great Recession."
“The revised labor market data we were waiting for has finally arrived. The picture it portrays of the Rhode Island labor market is anything but flattering. Both measures of employment were even lower than we were led to believe while the Unemployment Rate, with mixed revisions, remains well above where we need it to be,” said Lardaro.
“Worse yet, if one contrasts the pandemic-related employment numbers with those of The Great Recession, it is immediately obvious that the pandemic-related effects make the last recession look like a minor blip,” he adds.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“It has been difficult for me to write these reports over the past year since the numbers have been so depressing. The data revisions, if anything, have made this situation even worse. I have found it difficult and often depressing to describe individual indicator performances since these are, to be quite honest, awful, and doing so would give the appearance of ‘piling on,’” said Lardaro.
“Because Rhode Island’s economy has once again demonstrated its dubious ability to fall very far and very fast, a return to “normal” generally a very long time. And, as I have stated for some time now, where we were prior to the pandemic wasn’t all that good, since we had remained largely stuck at the 2015 level of our state’s real GDP. Has Rhode Island done much to change our business climate and to reinvent itself? Generally, no. However, Governor [Dan] McKee has stated his intention to begin a long-overdue emphasis on small business. Since about 90 percent of our employers have 30 or fewer employees, why this emphasis wasn’t adopted in deed, not word, for so long is a sad testament to how poorly this state has been run,” said Lardaro.
No More Home Run Strategy
Lardaro warns that Rhode Island needs to create a business environment that is friendly for small businesses and give up the focus on trying to attract large corporations with substantials taxpayer-funded incentives
“As we begin to move from the pandemic, it is imperative that we stop striving for “home runs” with large firms. All too often we have either struck out, or as with 38 Studios, gotten hit in the face by the ‘ball.’ Our state’s ability to thrive in this period of recovery will be determined by whether we are able to cast off our image as Rhode Island 5-0. We can begin by setting a goal of returning resident employment back to its prior peak of almost a decade and a half ago! The time is right to shed our modus operandi of Endogenous Mediocrity,” according to Lardaro.
Related Articles
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Revised Labor Market Data
- Lardaro: RI Economy Closes 2018 on Downbeat Note
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Abysmal February Economic Performance
- Lardaro Report: RI Economy Closes 1st Quarter on Note of Concern
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Economic Momentum Down, But Not Out
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Economy Gets Reprieve in November
- Lardaro Report: “Virtually Nothing to Cheer About” in October
- Lardaro: RI Ends 2nd Quarter on Positive Note, But June Below May
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Economy Stumbles in July
- Lardaro Report: Current Conditions Fall to Lowest Value of Year
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Disappointing Third Quarter Contributes to Lackluster 2018
- Lardaro Report: RI is Not That Far Away From a Recession
- Lardaro Report: RI Finishes 2nd Quarter on “Somewhat Upbeat Note”
- Lardaro Report: Has Rhode Island’s Economy Hit Bottom?
- Lardaro Report: RI Enters Recession in “Relatively Weak Position”
- Lardaro: Is RI’s Economy Showing Any Sign of Life?
- RI’s Economy Remains in Severe Contraction - Lardaro Report
- Lardaro: “3 to 5 Years Before Rhode Island Returns to Its Pre-Pandemic” Economy
- Lardaro Report: RI Economy’s December Performance Was Best of 2019
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Economy Struggles to Sustain Momentum
- Lardaro Report: RI’s July Economic Conditions Rank Best of 2019
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Economic Activity Slows
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Economy Is Not As Weak As It Appears
- Lardaro Report: RI’s Economy Regains Momentum in October
- URI Economist Lardaro Says RI’s Job Market Is Far Worse Than During “Great Recession”
