Education jobs in Rhode Island grow

Posted on May 8, 2019

A number of education jobs in Rhode Island have grown, according to recent labor statistics.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March is down one-tenth of a percentage point at 3.8 percent, the Department of Labor and Training announced Thursday. Over the year, the unemployment rate is down four-tenths of a percentage point from the March 2018 rate of 4.2 percent.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in March 2019, unchanged from the previous month and down two-tenths of a percentage point over the year.

The number of employed Rhode Island residents was 532,900, down 600 from February. Over the year, the number of employed Rhode Island residents was up 700 from March 2018 (532,200).

In March, the number of Rhode Island-based jobs totaled 494,900, a decrease of 300 jobs from the revised February job count of 495,200. The state job count is down 1,000 from March 2018.

The Professional & Business Services sector lost 1,100 jobs in March, following a loss of 1,000 jobs in February and a loss of 1,000 jobs in January. The sector’s loss of 3,100 jobs during the first quarter of 2019 can be attributed to the Administrative & Waste Services subsector, which accounted for all the declines. Employment in Professional & Business Services is down 2,200 from a year ago.

The number of jobs in Educational Services fell by 400 in March, followed by smaller losses of 100 jobs each in the Financial Activities and Health Care & Social Assistance sectors. Year over year, all three sectors are up in employment led by Health Care & Social Assistance (+1,000), Educational Services (+300) and Financial Activities (+200).

Employment remained unchanged in the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, Information and Transportation & Utilities sectors. Over the year, the number of jobs is down 700 in Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, up 700 in Transportation & Utilities and unchanged in Information.