PROVIDENCE – Mixed results in key economic indicators hint that the state’s economic growth stalled in the second, according to a report from the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and the Center for Global and Regional Economic Studies at Bryant University.
The Rhode Island Key Performance Indicators Quarterly briefing, published on Thursday, showed a slight improvement in the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate from the first quarter of 2023, but no improvement from the same period a year ago, while Rhode Island-based jobs declined both quarter over quarter and year over year.
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“Rhode Island’s economy has been growing over the last several years, but recently growth has slowed, and now the data appears to indicate that economic expansion has stalled out,” said RIPEC President and CEO Michael DiBiase. “We do not have enough data at this point to know for sure where the economy is heading, but given these warning signs, third-quarter data could indicate a turning point in Rhode Island’s economic outlook.”
The unemployment rate in Rhode Island continued to hover around historical lows at 3% in the second quarter, lower than the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.6% and slightly higher than the New England average of 2.9%.
Rhode Island’s labor force participation rate was 63.1% in the second quarter, down from 63.7% a year earlier. The number of employed Rhode Islanders increased to 551,500 in the second quarter, 1,500 fewer than before the pandemic and 3,900 less than a year ago.
In the second quarter, Rhode Island experienced a decrease in jobs while the New England region and the U.S. experienced job creation, according to the report.
Non-farm jobs across the state decreased by 1%, with six of Rhode Island’s nine major industry sectors – construction; trade, transportation and utilities; financial services; professional and business services; and leisure and hospitality – each lost jobs in the second quarter.
The construction sector had the greatest rate of employment decline at 6.1% despite being one of only three major industry sectors with more jobs now than before the pandemic. Three of the state’s major industry sectors – education and health services; information services; and government – experienced job growth in the second quarter.
Net sales tax receipts decreased 0.2% year over year.
