DLT: R.I. recovers 91% of jobs lost in recession

THE R.I. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING said Rhode Island, as of December, has recovered 91 percent of the jobs it lost during its recession. Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont have recovered all the jobs they lost during their respective recessions. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING
THE R.I. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING said Rhode Island, as of December, has recovered 91 percent of the jobs it lost during its recession. Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont have recovered all the jobs they lost during their respective recessions. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING

PROVIDENCE – As of December, Rhode Island has recovered 91 percent of the 39,800 jobs it lost during its recession, the state Department of Labor and Training said Wednesday.

The DLT said the Ocean State regained 36,200 jobs of those lost from its peak employment level of 495,700 in December 2006 and low employment level of 455,900 in August 2009.

Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine are the only New England states that have not regained the jobs lost between their respective peak and low employment level periods, the state agency said.

Connecticut has recovered 70.4 percent of the 119,100 jobs it lost, while Maine has recouped 67.4 percent of the 30,700 total jobs it lost during its recession period.

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The United States has recovered all of the 8.7 million jobs lost between January 2008 and February 2010, its high and low employment levels.

Comparing 2016 to 2015, Massachusetts had the greatest increase in jobs at 2.1 percent, followed by New Hampshire at 1.7 percent, and Rhode Island and Vermont at 0.7 percent. The number of jobs was unchanged in Maine, and fell 0.1 percent in Connecticut.

Rhode Island ended 2016 with 492,100 jobs, compared with 488,500 at the end of 2015.
Rhode Island also had the highest jobless rate in December among the New England states at 5 percent, which is four-tenths of a percentage point lower than a year earlier. New Hampshire had the lowest rate at 2.6 percent, which fell five-tenths of a percentage point over the year.

The labor force in New England increased 1 percent over the year in December to 7,840,340. Maine had the greatest labor force increase at 3 percent, to 693,943, while Rhode Island has the smallest increase at 0.2 percent, to 553,301.

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