Education jobs in Rhode Island dip

Posted on February 1, 2017

Not all job numbers were positive, because it seems that education jobs in Rhode Island took a dip last month.

The RI Department of Labor and Training said that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2016 was 5.0 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from the November rate. Over the year, the unemployment rate is down four-tenths of a percentage point from the December 2015 rate of 5.4 percent.

Payroll in Rhode Island totaled 492,100 in December, reflecting a loss of 1,000 jobs from the revised November estimate of 493,100. December’s loss ends two consecutive months of robust job gains reported in October (+1,600) and November (+800). Overall, the local economy generated 3,600 jobs since December 2015.

The Health Care & Social Assistance sector reported a loss of 500 jobs in December with the decreases occurring in the ambulatory healthcare services and hospitals subsectors. Over the year, employment in Health Care & Social Assistance is down 700.

Four employment sectors each reported a loss 400 jobs from November. Those sectors include: Educational Services, Financial Activities, Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade. Among those sectors, Financial Activities (-1,200), Manufacturing (-900) and Wholesale Trade (-400) all reported over-the-year job declines. Employment in Educational Services is up 600 from December 2015.

A loss of 100 jobs was reported in each of the Accommodation & Food Services, Information and Other Services sectors, while employment remained unchanged in the Mining & Logging, Retail Trade and Transportation & Utilities sectors. The Accommodation & Food Services (+2,700) and Retail Trade (+1,300) sectors were among two of three employment sectors to report a gain of at least one-thousand jobs over the year.

Offsetting some of the December job declines were job gains reported in the Construction (+600) and Professional & Business Services (+500) sectors. Despite adding a total of 1,000 jobs in the fourth-quarter of 2016, Construction employment was down 200 from December 2015. Professional & Business Services, the third employment sector to add at least one-thousand jobs over the year, was up 2,200 jobs from December 2015.

Smaller jobs gains were also reported in the Government (+200) and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (+100) sectors.