KINGSTON — Based on indications from University of Rhode Island Professor Leonard
Lardaro’s Current Conditions Index, Rhode Island’s economic condition, though
shaken by employment conditions and the continued decline in manufacturing, was
sufficiently buoyed by other circumstances to maintain the overall index level
for the month of April that it showed in the preceding month. The state’s index
based on 12 economic indicators, from home sales to unemployment remained steady
at 42, Lardaro reported. Unemployment increased slightly from April a year ago,
4.4 percent this year, compared with 4.2 percent a year ago, but five of the 12
indicators improved from a year ago, Lardaro reported. Among those he listed retail
sales which rose by 2.8 percent from and existing home sales which increased 13.7
percent.
