SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Rhode Island is moving beyond its “funk,” said University of Rhode Island Economist Leonard Lardaro of the February 2018 Current Conditions Index measure of 92, in a statement Monday.
Published monthly, the CCI measures 12 economic indicators which are representative of the economic climate of the state. A value above 50 implies economic expansion while a value less than 50 indicates contraction.
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In the second CCI report of 2018, 11 of the 12 economic indicators saw improvement – the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged in February. Nine of the report’s 12 indicators reported improvement in the January CCI which was measured at 75.
Detail of the 11 economic indicator improvements is below:
- Government employment rose 0.2 percent in February.
- A 3.5 percent jump in U.S. consumer sentiment in February ended two consecutive months of decline.
- Reflective of home construction activity, single-unit permits rose 16.3 percent in February ending three months of weather-related declines.
- Retail Sales grew again at a double-digit rate in February increasing 11.5 percent.
- A leading labor market indicator, employment service jobs rose in February by 2 percent.
- There was a 1.3 percent jump in private service-producing employment last month.
- Total Manufacturing Hours, a proxy for manufacturing output, increased in February by an “amazing” 6.8 percent.
- There was a 1.5 percent jump in the manufacturing wage in February.
- Growing by 0.8 percent, the labor force has sustained eight consecutive months of increases.
- Reflective of longer-term unemployment, benefit exhaustions fell by 10.5 percent.
- New Claims, the timeliest measure of layoffs, fell by 9.7 percent in February.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, gowdey-backus@pbn.com.
