Food service jobs in Rhode Island grow
Posted on November 6, 2017
The number of food service jobs in Rhode Island is climbing, according to recent labor statistics.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August 2017 was 4.3 percent, unchanged from the July rate. Over the year, the unemployment rate is down one percentage point from the August 2016 rate of 5.3 percent.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in August 2017, up one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month and down half of a percentage point over the year.
The number of unemployed RI residents—those residents classified as available for and actively seeking employment—was 23,700, down 500 from the July figure of 24,200. Over the year, the number of unemployed dropped by 5,800.
The number of Rhode Island based jobs in August remained unchanged from the revised July employment figure of 499,700. The Government sector, which lost 500 jobs in August, was offset by a gain of 500 jobs in the private sector. Overall, the number of jobs in Rhode Island is up 9,300 from a year ago.
Employment in the Construction sector rose by 1,100 in August, the largest gain among all industry sectors. The increase in jobs was driven by gains reported in the construction of buildings and specialty trade contractor subsectors. Construction employment is up 3,200 over the past year.
The number of jobs in the Accommodation & Food Services sector grew by 400 in August, marking five consecutive months of job growth. A total of 4,100, or an average of 800 jobs per month were added through this five-month span. This industry has added 4,000 jobs over the year.
The Educational Services and Health Care & Social Assistance sectors each added 300 jobs over the month. These sectors have added 1,700 and 900 jobs, respectively, from a year ago.
Wholesale Trade employment increased by 200 from July and now has 600 more jobs than reported in August 2016.
The number of jobs in the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, Financial Activities, Mining & Logging and Professional & Business Services sectors remained unchanged.
