Rhode Island Job Loss Among Worst in Country

Posted on May 26, 2009

The number of Rhode Island jobs lost during April were among the worst in the country.

Rhode Island, Ohio and West Virginia saw the biggest increases in unemployment during April, according to an article by Bloomberg. Rhode Island had an unemployment rate of 11.1 percent, the highest since 1976, while Ohio’s unemployment rate came in at 10.2 percent, the highest since 1983. West Virginia’s unemployment rate increased by .7 percent to 7.5 percent.

Overall, 18 states and the District of Columbia saw an increase in unemployment, while 21 states saw a decrease. The country as a whole has lost 5.7 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, the biggest job loss since the Great Depression.

During April, Rhode Island had a total non-farm employment of 464,700 workers, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 465,000 workers during March and a 4.1 percent decrease from last year.

Most industries in the state saw an over-the-year jobs decrease during April, including:

• construction by 14.1 percent
• manufacturing by 10.5 percent
• trade, transportation and utilities by 5.5 percent
• information by 5.6 percent
• financial activities by 4.2 percent
• professional and business services by 5.6 percent
• leisure and hospitality by 1.9 percent
• government by 2.2 percent

Only one industry saw an over-the-year increase in jobs. The education and health services industry employed 99,900 workers, the same as during March and a .3 percent increase from last year. The minind and logging industry employed 200 workers, the same as during March and the same as last year.