Two recent economic reports would seem to indicate that Rhode Island is moving in a positive direction.
The state’s monthly jobs report for June said that nonfarm employment in the Ocean State was 502,400, the first time that number has breached the 500,000 level in state history and nearly 50,000 more than the lowest level in the last 20 years of 457,500 (reached in both June 2010 and June 1998).
In a separate U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, the state’s gross domestic product showed 5.3 percent real growth through the 12 months ending with the first quarter of this year, the fastest growth rate in New England and ahead of the national real GDP growth rate of 4.7 percent.
While it is not possible to point to any one government policy or regional trend to explain this positive news, one can safely assume that taken together, the economic and job growth reflect positively on the economic-development approach of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, a topic that rightfully will be front and center as the state careens through the roller-coaster ride that is a gubernatorial campaign.
