R.I. jobless rate holds at 7.7% in August, labor force shrinks

WHILE THE AUGUST JOBLESS RATE in Rhode Island remained at July's 7.7% figure, the state's labor force fell by 2,000 over the month as the number of employed Rhode Islanders fell by 1,500. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING
WHILE THE AUGUST JOBLESS RATE in Rhode Island remained at July's 7.7% figure, the state's labor force fell by 2,000 over the month as the number of employed Rhode Islanders fell by 1,500. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING

PROVIDENCE – August’s unemployment rate in Rhode Island remained at 7.7 percent, unchanged from the month before, according to the R.I. Department of Labor and Training.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 7.7 percent is 1.9 percent lower than it was the year before, when it hit 9.6 percent, according to the DLT. However the state’s labor force fell by 2,000 to 556,500 compared with July. That number, however, was an increase of 2,100 compared with August 2013.
Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is greater than the national average of 6.1 percent in August. That federal rate is one-tenth of a percentage point less than in the previous month and represents a decline of 1.1 percentage points over the year.
Rhode Island is tied with Nevada and Michigan for having the third-highest unemployment rate in the nation.
“This represents the 13th consecutive over-the-month decrease and the lowest unemployment level since May of 2008,” the DLT stated.
In addition, the number of unemployed Rhode Island residents who are available for and actively seeking work fell by 500, registering 42,600 in August compared with 43,100 in July.
At the same time, the number of employed Rhode Island residents fell 1,500 from July’s total of 515,400, although the August total represented an increase of 12,600 compared with a year ago.
A total of 12,086 people collected unemployment benefits in August, down from 13,583 a year ago. In August, unemployment claimants represented 27.7 percent of the total number of unemployed, the DLT found.
Total nonfarm employment in Rhode Island grew by 5,700 on a year-over-year basis. The sectors experiencing gains included professional and business services, with 2,500 more jobs; financial activities, +1,000; construction and retail, +700 each; manufacturing, +600; accommodation and food services, +500; arts, entertainment and recreation, as well as health care and social assistance, both with gains of 400; and transportation and utilities, +200.
Declines were posted over the year in educational services, which lost 500 positions; other services, -300; information, -300; and wholesale trade, -200. Mining and logging as well as government employment remained the same.
Month over month, nonfarm payroll in Rhode Island gained 100 jobs in August, totaling 477,900 – the highest number of jobs in the state since September 2008.

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  1. If you go to http://www.bls.gov/lau/stalt.htm (published on July 30th) you will see that, at Level U6, we’re still at FIFTEEN POINT THREE PERCENT (15.3%)…now California and Nevada are TIED for the bottom/last place, with Arizona coming in right behind them and RI next in line….The NEXT report broken down to State(s) level is due to be published on Friday, October 24th….until then….jkp