PROVIDENCE – The average unemployment rate in 2019 for Rhode Island was 3.6%, a 0.4 percentage point decline year over year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday.
The unemployment rate in the United States in 2019 was 3.7%, a 0.2 percentage point decline from 2018.
The average unemployment rate in New England was 3.1% in 2019, a decline from 3.5% in 2018. Rhode Island had the second-highest average unemployment rate in the region for 2019.
Rhode Island’s population average of noninstitutionalized residents over the age of 16 for the year was 864,000, a 3,000-resident increase year over year. The average labor force was 555,000, a 1,000-person increase from 2018.
The average number of employed in the state increased 4,000 year over year to 536,000.
The average number of unemployed in the state was 20,000 for the year, a 2,000-person decline from 2018.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. You may reach him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.
