PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island had the second-highest unemployment rate in New England in May at 3% but remained below the national rate of 3.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Across the nation in May, unemployment rates were lower than the previous month in 11 states and stable in 39 states and Washington, D.C.
Federal and State Nursing Home Staffing Mandates
Staffing has always been an ongoing challenge in the long-term care industry. However, since the…
Learn More
Seventeen states had lower jobless rates than they did in May 2022, the data showed. Eight states and Washington, D.C., however, had jobless rate increases from a year earlier.
The national unemployment rate of 3.7% in May was up from 3.4% in April and 0.1 percentage point lower than in May 2022.
Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in the country in May at 5.4%, while Nebraska, New Hampshire and South Dakota had the lowest rate in the nation at 1.9%.
New England unemployment rates in May:
- Connecticut: 3.7%, down from 3.8% in April and 4.1% in May 2022.
- Rhode Island: 3%, same as both April and in May 2022.
- Massachusetts: 2.8%, down from 3.1% in April and from 3.7% a year earlier.
- Maine: 2.4%, same as April and down from 2.6% a year earlier.
- Vermont: 2.1%, down from 2.4% in April and from 2.2% in May 2022.
- New Hampshire: 1.9%, down from 2.1% in April and 2.2% a year earlier.
