PROVIDENCE – The nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Providence-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area in April was 18.2%, an increase from 3.3% one year prior, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Wednesday.
The national unemployment rate at that time was 14.4%. In Rhode Island, the rate was 17.8% for the month.
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Providence metro’s labor force declined by 5.1% over the year to 648,851 people. The number of unemployed in the area increased to 118,109 from 22,307 in that time. Nonfarm payrolls in the area declined 17.5% year over year to 493,000.
In the New Bedford metro area, the unemployment rate was 21.9% in April, a rise from 4% one year prior. The number of unemployed in the area totaled 17,946 for the month. Nonfarm payrolls declined 16.8% over the year to 56,100.
The Norwich-New London, Conn.-Westerly metro area had an unemployment rate of 13.7%, representing 16,957 unemployed. Nonfarm payrolls declined 27.4% year over year to 93,300.
The BLS noted that unemployment rates increased year over year in April in every single metro area in the country, with rates ranging from 6.2% to 35%. Nonfarm payrolls declined in 377 of 389 metro areas in that time.
