Rhode Island jobs growing at a better-than-expected pace

Posted on August 6, 2013

The pace of Rhode Island jobs is growing at a faster pace than expected, according to the state’s labor department.

Currently there are 1,700 more jobs than first estimated in March 2013.

The latest estimates, released by the RI Department of Labor and Training, are based upon employment information from the state’s 32,000 private-sector employers, and show a RI job count of 468,600. Earlier estimates, released by the department in conjunction with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, are based upon a sample of 1,700 employers.

These new estimates suggest an over-the-year improvement of 2,300 RI-based jobs and a growth rate of 0.5 percent. Earlier estimates suggested an over-the-year improvement of 600 jobs and a growth rate of 0.1 percent.

On the industry level, the new estimates show significantly improved performances in the Accommodation & Food Services sector and the Construction sector. Accommodation & Food Services showed a 1,900-job increase over original estimates; this revises the sector’s year-over-year performance from a loss of 800 jobs to a gain of 1,100 jobs. The construction sector showed a 1,100-job increase over original estimates, reducing its total job loss over the year from 1,300 to 200 jobs.

Sectors that showed downward revisions for March 2013 include Financial Activities (-700) and Educational Services (-700).

The RI Department of Labor and Training has chosen to release its own revisions on a quarterly basis, to better track the progress of the economic recovery. Because quarterly estimates are based on a larger data pool, they are considered to have a smaller margin of error than the monthly estimates the department produces. However, because tax data is not available until three months after a quarter closes, monthly estimates are still the most timely data available. The monthly estimates are also comparable from state to state.