PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s current conditions index tied its highest mark so far this year by hitting a value of 75 in June.
Although the mark shows improvement, June’s index reflects a 17-point year-over-year drop, according to a report released Monday by University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro.
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The state’s CCI has held steady at 58 for the previous three months, rebounding from a low of 33 in February after a high of 75 in January.
Despite June’s growth, Lardaro notes that the CCI index has not exceeded its year-earlier value for 13 consecutive months.
“Rhode Island’s economy has downshifted into first gear with diminished overall momentum,” he said.
In June, nine of the twelve indicators used to measure economic growth improved, including four out of five of the state’s leading indicators.
Still, weaker performances in manufacturing hours, the labor force and benefit exhaustions are “continuing the trend where our negatives are substantially offsetting our positives, which adversely affects growth and our overall economic performance,” Lardaro said.
Labor force and resident employment remain below their year-earlier values, while retail sales continued to improve, although at a slower rate than last month, according to the report. Manufacturing wages rose for the sixth consecutive month.
CCI indicator changes year over year in June:
- Government employment increased 0.7%
- U.S. consumer sentiment increased 0.2%
- Single-use permits increased 16.3%
- Retail sales increased 3.7%
- Employment service jobs increased 1.9%
- Private service-producing employment increased 1.7%
- Total manufacturing hours decreased 8.3%
- Manufacturing wage increased 2.5%
- State labor force decreased 0.6%
- Benefit exhaustions increased 10.7%
- New claims decreased 11.5%
- Unemployment decreased 0.4%
