Study: 132K R.I. jobs supported by international trade

AN ANALYSIS BY BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE found that that number of jobs supported by trade in Rhode Island grew 139 percent from 1992 to 2013, to 132,416. / COURTESY BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE
AN ANALYSIS BY BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE found that that number of jobs supported by trade in Rhode Island grew 139 percent from 1992 to 2013, to 132,416. / COURTESY BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE

PROVIDENCE – More than 132,000 jobs in Rhode Island are supported by international trade, according to Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies.
And that number has grown 139 percent, when comparing 1992 with 2013.
In 2013, $2.2 billion in goods and $1.8 billion in services were exported from the Ocean State, the association said.
“Trade is vital to economic growth and jobs in Rhode Island and the United States,” Business Roundtable President John Engler said in a statement. “To help local businesses reach 95 percent of the world’s customers who live outside the United States, we must continue to create new trade opportunities.”
The association conducted a state-by-state analysis, and found that while Rhode Island’s total employment declined from 2004 to 2013, trade-related jobs increased 17 percent. It also found that 89 percent of Rhode Island exporters are small- and medium-sized companies with fewer than 500 workers.
Also, customers in 164 countries and territories buy Rhode Island-made goods and services, including billions of dollars in annual exports to top markets like Canada, Germany and Mexico, it said.
And, the association said that Rhode Island consistently ranks among the top half of state exporters in four industries – 10th in recycled products ($565 million), 14th in marine products ($32 million), 20th in nonferrous metals ($217 million) and 21st in ships and boats ($21 million).
One of the fastest growing export categories in Rhode Island is resins and synthetic fibers, which have increased by 13 percent every year since 2003. In 2013, exports of these products reached $56 million.
Other findings:

  • In 2013, $899 million of Rhode Island’s exports, or 42 percent, went to free trade agreement partners.
  • Foreign-owned companies employ 27,300 employees in Rhode Island. Those companies include Japan’s Toray Plastics (America).
  • More than one in five Rhode Island jobs depend on international trade.

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