R.I. jobless rate second-highest in New England

RHODE ISLAND'S unemployment rate in July at 5.5 percent was higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
RHODE ISLAND'S unemployment rate in July at 5.5 percent was higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s unemployment rate in July at 5.5 percent was higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, and was the second-highest in New England behind Connecticut, which had a rate of 5.7 percent, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
The Ocean State’s jobless rate was unchanged from June to July, but decreased four-tenths of a percentage point when comparing July with July 2015.
It was among 40 states and the District of Columbia with stable unemployment rates month over month, and 15 states and the District of Columbia that had notable unemployment rate changes from a year earlier.
South Dakota and New Hampshire had the lowest jobless rates in July at 2.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, while Alaska had the highest unemployment rate, 6.7 percent.

Rhode Island had the 15th highest unemployment rate in the nation in July, while Connecticut was 12th highest.

Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central had the lowest unemployment rate at 3.9 percent in July, followed by New England at 4.3 percent. The Pacific had the highest rate at 5.4 percent.

In Rhode Island, the number of unemployed fell in July to 30,450 from 32,660 in July 2015, and the civilian labor force totaled 555,001, nearly the same as July 2015’s 555,429.

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