NEW: Unemployment Dips Slightly in State

Friday, March 18, 2011

GoLocalProv Business Team

Rhode Island's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 11.2% for the month of February, according to the state Department of Training and Labor. That number is one-tenth of a percentage point lower than the January 2011 rate.

The unemployment figure still stands 2.3 percentage points above the national level of 8.9%, but was in step with the overall trend as the U.S figure also dropped one-tenth of a point last month.

Slowly Moving Down

The current RI rate is also .6 percentage points below the February 2010 number, and the lowest it has been since August 2009, when it was also 11.2%. The rate decrease correlates with a drop in the number of unemployed RI residents —down 1,000 from revised January figures to the current 64,100 unemployed in February. The data also shows a decrease of 3,700 over the year.

However, these statistics don't account for Rhode Islanders who have stopped seeking employment or who are currently under-employed in low-wage or part-time jobs.

Increase in RI-based Payroll

The total labor force was 573,800 for February, down 2,400 from January and unchanged from this time last year. The RI-based, non-farm payroll is currently 459,400 — a 2,600 increase from January and the first over-the-month job gain since August 2010. This number is also up 2,200 for the year, a .5% increase from the February 2010 figure.

Perhaps a better, if contradictory, indicator of the current job market is the decrease in employed RI residents — down 1,300 from January — the first over-the-month decrease since October 2009. Over the year though, the number of employed residents increased by 3,800, marking the 11th consecutive over-the-year increase since 2000. There are currently 509,800 employed residents in Rhode Island —just over 50% of the state population.

Sectors Show Improvement

Several economic sectors showed marked improvements from both January 2011 and February 2010. The Professional & Business Services Sector showed increases on both time scales (up 1,000 for the month and 1,800 for the year) as did Accommodations and Food Services (up 700 and 1,600, respectively), Manufacturing (up 200, 300), Wholesale Trade (up 100, 800) and Information (up 100, 700).

Two showed decreases across both. The Financial Activities sector dropped 300 jobs for the month and 700 for the year and Government showed a decrease of 200 and 1,000, respectively.

Monthly and Annual Disparities

Most interestingly, many growth and contraction figures in individual sectors were contradictory in their over-the-month and over-the-year rate changes, inspiring mixed reactions over the current state of RI's economy. Educational Services showed the largest contrast with an increase of 100 jobs for the month, but an 800-job decrease for the year. Two other sectors also showed gains for the month and losses for the year were Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (up 300, down 500); and Construction (up 300, down 700).

Two sectors remained unchanged from January but have increased since last year — Retail Trade (up 1,400 for the year), and Transportation and Utilities (up 100 for the year). Other Services, though unchanged for the month, decreased by 700 jobs since February 2010. Only the Natural Resources and Mining category remained unchanged for both the month and year.