Rhode Island food service jobs increase
Posted on November 30, 2013
According to recent labor statistics, food service jobs in Rhode Island increased by 800 last month.
Rhode Island jobs increased overall.
In October, the number of RI-based jobs reached 469,600, its highest level since December 2008. In September and October, RI-based jobs showed monthly increases of 1,100 and 800, respectively. Combined with the previously reported August gains of 1,600 jobs, the state experienced three consecutive months of employment gains totaling 3,500 jobs.
Accommodation & Food Services (+800) demonstrated the greatest job gains as employment levels outperformed seasonal expectations. This, coupled with consecutive months of smaller gains in the sector, brought the four-month total increase in Accommodation & Food Services to 1,700. In other positive job news, the Construction sector gained 300 jobs in September and 400 in October, bringing its three-month total increase to 1,000 jobs.
The Retail Trade (-800) and Financial Activities (-600) sectors each experienced notable declines in September. Building material retailers and miscellaneous retailers (i.e. office supply, gift shops, and stationary stores) reported job losses, while several subsectors in the Financial Activities sector experienced payroll declines. The greatest over-the-month job losses in October occurred in the Government sector (-300), with reported losses in local government and state government.
From October 2012 to October 2013, total nonfarm employment rose by 5,500, as job gains appeared in nine economic sectors including Professional & Business Services (+3,000), Construction (+800), Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (+800), Financial Activities (+500), Transportation & Utilities (+300), Accommodation & Food Services (+300), Retail Trade (+200), Health Care & Social Assistance (+200) and Manufacturing (+100).
Employment in four sectors—Government (-300), Information (-200), Other Services (-100) and Wholesale Trade (-100)—declined over the year. Employment in Educational Services and Mining & Logging remained unchanged.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for both September and October 2013 was 9.2 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from the August 2013 rate.
