Adelita S. Orefice, director of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, announced today that Rhode Island’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October dropped two-tenths of a percentage point, from September’s 5.2 percent to 5.0 percent, the lowest jobless rate since January.
The number of Rhode Island residents who were employed continued to grow in October, hitting a record-high of 549,400, the DLT said, while the number of unemployed Rhode Island residents declined by 1,400 over the month to 28,800. A year ago, the state’s jobless level was 29,100 and the unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent.
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Rhode Island’s unemployment rate for October remained above the national average, which dipped to 4.4 percent, from 4.6 percent in September and 4.9 percent a year ago.
Employment at Rhode Island businesses declined slightly last month, by 100 jobs, bringing the October count to a seasonally adjusted 493,800 positions.
Over-the-month job gains were seen in Educational and Health Services, up 800; Professional and Business Services, up 500 jobs; Financial Activities, up 100; and Construction, also up 100. They were partially offset by employment declines in Government, down 800 jobs; Other Services, down 300; Leisure & Hospitality, down 200 jobs; and Manufacturing, also down 200.
“The drop in our unemployment rate for the second straight month combined with a new record-high resident employment level is certainly encouraging news. The increase of 700 private-sector jobs over the month demonstrates that Rhode Island is continuing to build momentum,” Orefice said.
The DLT said the employment gains in Educational and Health Services reflected additional hiring and the return of student workers to private colleges and universities, and the job growth in Professional and Business Services can be partially attributed to gains in Employment Services. The job losses in Government, it said, resulted from employment declines at the local level.
Year over year, Rhode Island’s employment was up 400 jobs, or 0.08 percent, from the 493,400 jobs reported in October 2005.
Annual employment growth was seen in Financial Activities, up 2,300 jobs; Professional & Business Services, up 1,300; Construction, gaining 700 jobs; and Educational & Health Services, up 600 jobs. The gains in those sectors offset losses in Leisure and Hospitality, which was down 100 jobs; Other Services, losing 500; Trade, Transportation and Utilities, down 700 jobs; Government, down 900; and Manufacturing, which had 1,700 fewer jobs than a year earlier.
Manufacturing-sector wages and hours also rose over the course of the month, the DLT said.
The average hourly wage for production workers in the sector rose in October to $13.55 per hour, up 10 cents per hour from September and 31 cents from a year ago. The average work week for those employees was 39.2 hours, up 0.1 hour since September and 0.5 hour since October 2005.
