R.I. unemployment declines to 3.5% in Nov.

THE RHODE ISLAND unemployment rate declined 0.5 percentage points year over year to 3.5% in November. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING
THE RHODE ISLAND unemployment rate declined 0.5 percentage points year over year to 3.5% in November. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING

PROVIDENCE – The unemployment rate in Rhode Island was 3.5% in November, a 0.5 percentage point decline year over year, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training said on Thursday.

Rhode Island’s unemployment rate was level with the national rate, which declined 0.2 percentage points from the previous year to 3.5%.

The number of Rhode Island nonfarm payrolls totaled 506,7000 for the month, a 2.2% increase year over year. The number of Rhode Islanders employed in November was 538,000, an increase of 3,900 people from one year prior.

The state labor force increased by 1,400 year over year, to 557,600 in November.

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The number of unemployed in the state was 19,600, a decline of 2,600 people year over year. A total of 6,636 individuals filed for unemployment insurance benefits in November, a 204-person increase year over year.

The following is a breakdown of year over year employment changes in Rhode Island’s job sectors in November (in order of highest number of employed):

  • Health care and social assistance organizations employed 84,100 people, an increase of 2,400 workers year over year. The increase was the largest of any sector in the state.
  • The professional and business services sector employed 69,300 people in November, a 400 worker increase over the year.
  • Government employment totaled 61,200, a 200-worker increase over the year.
  • Accommodation and food service employment was 50,300, a 1,600 worker increase year over year
  • The retail trade sector employed 49,200 people in November, a 200-worker decline year over year
  • The manufacturing sector in Rhode Island employed 39,100 workers for the month, a 500-worker decline year over year. The decline was the largest of any sector in the state. Production workers in the sector earned $19.47 per hour, a 27 cent increase year over year. Average work hours per week in the sector declined 2.5 hours year over year to 38.6 hours.
  • The financial activities sector employed 36,000, a 500-worker increase year over year.
  • The “other services” sector employed 23,600 workers in November, a 500 worker increase over the year.
  • There were 26,600 workers employed in the educational services sector in November, an increase of 800 workers year over year.
  • The construction sector employed 19,300 people in the state, a 400-worker increase year over year.
  • Wholesale trade employed 17,600 people in November an increase of 1,000 workers year over year.
  • The transportation and utilities sector employed 13,800 in the state, a 1,700-job increase over the year.
  • There were 10,600 workers employed in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, an increase of 1,300 workers year over year.
  • The information sector employed 6,300 workers in November, a 200-worker increase year over year.
  • Mining and logging accounted for 200 jobs in the state, unchanged from the previous year.

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