RI Unemployment Rate Holds Steady at 5.5 Percent

RHODE ISLAND—The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged in July at 5.5 percent as 1,400 jobs were added to payrolls, but the state still lags behind the national 4.9 percent rate.

The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training's monthly jobs report out Thursday also shows that the number of unemployed Rhode Islanders was up 300 from June. Now, 30,500 people are actively seeking employment, though the number of unemployed has dropped by 2,200 since the beginning of the year.

Governor Gina Raimondo described the report as "encouraging" and said that the 5,000 new jobs created this year shows the state "is moving in the right direction.

"This encouraging jobs news comes on the heels of a new national report that shows Rhode Island ranks higher than every other New England state for advanced industry job growth," the governor said in a news release. "It is good to see Rhode Island moving in the right direction as we put people back to work by supporting local companies with green finance programs, investing in infrastructure, and making Rhode Island a more attractive place to do business."

A year ago, the state's unemployment rate stood at 5.9 percent.

The state DLT also reported 10,486 people were collecting unemployment insurance benefits in July, down from 10,869 a year ago. The state figures 33.3 percent of the total unemployed in Rhode Island are collecting unemployment.

The estimated nonfarm payroll was 490,900 in July, the highest level since August of 2007.

The most jobs were created in the professional and business services fields, with 900 jobs in July and 2,600 over the past 12 months. The DLT said "the boost in the number of jobs can be attributed to growth in the Administrative & Waste Services subsector.

Other data points to note: the number of people employed in transportation and utilities increased by 700 from June. Total employment in the sector is up 100 over 2015.

Educational services added 500 jobs in July—the third consecutive month of job growth. But, total employment in the sector is down 200 over the year period. Government jobs increased by 500 "fueled by job gains reported within the local government branch."

Manufacturing was up 300 in July and employment here is as high as it was in March 2009. There are 1,200 more people working manufacturing jobs this year over last. These are some of the jobs that elected officials salivate over and include high tech manufacturing. In July, the average production worker earned $18.40 per hour, up 17 cents over the month and .68 cents more than last year. Reported hours dropped by four-tenths of an hour to 38.7 hours per week.

Job losses were seen in financial activities (600), wholesale trade (400) and retail and health care (300 and 200 respectively).

Link: Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training labor market information.