CLICK HERE. / " title="RHODE ISLAND'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATES SANK further last month, declining three-tenths of a percentage point in September, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training said Friday.For a larger version of this image, CLICK HERE. /"/>PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s unemployment rate sank further last month, declining three-tenths of a percentage point to 11.5 percent, even though the state lost 1,000 jobs in September, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training said Friday.
It’s the seventh consecutive monthly decline as the jobless rate has retreated from a high in December of 12.7 percent.
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The U.S. jobless rate, meanwhile, remained unchanged at 9.6 percent. Massachusetts’ rate dropped 0.4 percent to 8.8 percent last month.
Despite the lower rate in Rhode Island, September’s job report contained some discouraging numbers.
Rhode Island’s net loss of 1,000 jobs pushed down the state’s non-farm payrolls to 450,900 in September.
And while the number of employed state residents increased by 600 in September to 505,200, the number of unemployed residents – those classified as available for work and actively seeking employment – sank by 1,600 in September to 65,900.
That decline in the unemployed cut the state’s labor force to 571,000, down by 1,100 from a month earlier but up 900 from a year earlier.
The average weekly claims for unemployment benefits declined to 33,902 in September, down 9.1 percent from August’s average. That figure differs from the total number of unemployed because of eligibility restrictions.
Rhode Island’s largest job losses in September came in the accommodation and food services, which lost 1,110, the DLT said.
Construction shed 500 jobs over the month, and losses were reported in arts, entertainment and recreation (200), manufacturing (100), wholesale trade (9100) and “other services” (100).
The largest job gain for the month came in the government sector (500), as the result of hiring at schools in the fall, the DLT said.
Gains also were posted in financial activities (200), education services (200), professional and business services (100), and information (100).
Health and social assistance, retail trade, transportation and utilities, and natural resources and mining remained unchanged.
Rhode Island had 5,200 fewer jobs in September than it did a year ago, when the statewide non-farm payrolls totaled 456,100.
Manufacturing-production workers in Rhode Island earned an average hourly wage of $14.83 in September, up six cents from August and up 60 cents from a year earlier.
The state’s average manufacturing work week in September was 39.1 hours, up three-tenths of an hour from August and up 1.5 hours from last year, DLT said.
Additional information is available at www.dlt.ri.gov.
