Initial unemployment claims in R.I. drop 28% in 2Q

IN RHODE ISLAND, the number of workers filing initial unemployment claims dropped 28 percent during the second quarter. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/JEFF KOWALSKY
IN RHODE ISLAND, the number of workers filing initial unemployment claims dropped 28 percent during the second quarter. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/JEFF KOWALSKY

WASHINGTON – During the second quarter of 2012, 1,452 Rhode Islanders workers filed initial claims for unemployment, a 27.8 percent drop from the 2,011 workers who filed initial claims during the second quarter of 2011, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Throughout the second quarter, Rhode Island saw seven extended mass layoff events, which affected at least 50 workers at a time for at least 30 days. This figure is not seasonally adjusted and is unchanged from 2011 data.
Of Rhode Island initial unemployment claimants in the second quarter, 68 percent were women, 32.4 percent were 55 of older, 16.5 percent were Hispanic and 4.4 percent were black.
Across New England, there were 62 extended mass layoff events, up from the 46 seen during the first quarter, but down year-over-year from 83 during the second quarter of 2011.
The number of initial insurance claimants in New England dropped 30.2 percent to 9,572 during the second quarter of 2012, not seasonally adjusted, compared to a reported 13,720 during the same period in 2011.
Across the U.S., employers in the private nonfarm sector initiated 1,476 mass layoff events during the second quarter, involving 262,848 workers.
In 2012, total events have reached their lowest second quarter level since 2007, while manufacturing sector events declined to their lowest level for any quarter since the program started in 2005.
The completion of seasonal work accounted for 44 percent of total extended mass layoff events during the quarter, according to the BLS report.

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