Healthcare jobs in Rhode Island increase

Posted on September 8, 2012

According to the latest release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare jobs in Rhode Island have burgeoned.

Overall nationwide, health care employment rose by 17,000 in August. Ambulatory health care services and hospitals added 14,000 and 6,000 jobs.

From June through August, job growth in health care averaged 15,000 per month, compared with an average monthly gain of 28,000 in the prior 12 months.

This is down by quite a bit, but yet healthcare remains one of the strongest industries.

Other industries fared decently as well, although the overall employment picture remains grim.

Utilities employment increased in August (+9,000). The increase reflects the return of utility workers who were off payrolls in July due to a labor-management dispute. Within financial activities, finance and insurance added 11,000 jobs in August. Employment in wholesale trade continued to trend up. Employment in temporary help services changed little over the month and has shown little movement, on net, since February. Manufacturing employment edged down in August (-15,000).

A decline in motor vehicles and parts (-8,000) partially offset a gain in July. Auto manufacturers laid off fewer workers for factory retooling than usual in July, and fewer workers than usual were recalled in August.

Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, construction, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, and government, showed little change over the month.

The unemployment rate decreased to 8.1 percent. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.6 percent), adult women (7.3 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent), whites (7.2 percent), blacks (14.1 percent), and Hispanics (10.2 percent) showed little or no change in August. The jobless rate for Asians was 5.9 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from a year earlier.