Rhode Island jobs lost
Posted on November 8, 2016
Some Rhode Island jobs were lost last month, according to recent jobs statistics.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September 2016 was 5.6 percent, unchanged from the August rate. Over the year, the unemployment rate is unchanged from the September 2015 rate of 5.6 percent.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 5.0 percent in September 2016, up one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month and down one-tenth of a percentage point over the year.
The number of unemployed RI residents—those residents classified as available for and actively seeking employment—was 31,100, up 100 from the August figure of 31,000. Over the year, the number of unemployed dropped by 100.
A total of 7,298 individuals collected Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits in September 2016,* down from 7,698 a year ago. This month, UI claimants accounted for 25.8 percent of the total unemployed.
The number of employed RI residents was 526,300, up 400 from the August figure of 525,900. Over the year, the number of employed RI residents was up 3,800 from September 2015.
The RI labor force totaled 557,400 in September 2016, up 500 from August 2016 and up 3,600 from September 2015.
A loss of 1,100 jobs was reported in Educational Services, marking the second time within this calendar year where a monthly loss of 1,100 jobs was reported in this sector. A loss of the same magnitude was reported in the January jobs report. Despite these significant declines, the number of jobs in Educational Services is up 200 from a year ago.
In Health Care & Social Assistance, jobs fell by 900 in September, the largest over-the-month decline since January 2000 (-1,000). The Ambulatory Health Care Services (generally provides outpatient services) and Hospital subsectors accounted for a majority of the job declines. Since September 2015, the number of jobs in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector is down 200.
Sizeable employment losses were also noted in Government and Professional & Business Services, each falling by 700 in September. The Government employment figure is up 300 from a year ago, while the Professional & Business Services sector, which lost 1,100 jobs over the past two months, is up 1,500 from September 2015.
