KINGSTON – Data “paint a mixed picture of Rhode Island’s economic performance” in February, University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro said in his monthly Current Conditions Index report.
The index was unchanged from its January value of 58, with 7 of 12 indicators improving, Lardaro said. A score above 50 indicates growth.
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“One reason for [the CCI’s] mediocre performance was the cold weather and snow that adversely affected some indicators,” Lardaro added. Hardest-hit were single-unit permits for new housing construction, which fell 42.7 percent. Also worsening in February were new unemployment claims, retail sales and government employment.
Improving in February from year-ago levels were employment services jobs, rising 14.6 percent, in the category’s fifth consecutive double-digit increase. Other improvements included the unemployment rate, jobless benefits exhaustion (a measure of long-term unemployment), the state’s labor force, the average manufacturing wage, and the private U.S. Consumer Sentiment index.
Additional information is available at members.cox.net/lardaro/current.
