Transportation jobs in Rhode Island remain steady

Posted on February 1, 2017

The newest job numbers for last month are in, and they show that transportation jobs in Rhode Island kept the same numbers as the previous month.

The RI Department of Labor and Training announced that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2016 was 5.0 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from the November rate. Over the year, the unemployment rate is down four-tenths of a percentage point from the December 2015 rate of 5.4 percent.

December’s loss ends two consecutive months of robust job gains reported in October (+1,600) and November (+800). Overall, the local economy generated 3,600 jobs since December 2015.

The Health Care & Social Assistance sector reported a loss of 500 jobs in December with the decreases occurring in the ambulatory healthcare services and hospitals subsectors. Over the year, employment in Health Care & Social Assistance is down 700.

Four employment sectors each reported a loss 400 jobs from November. Those sectors include: Educational Services, Financial Activities, Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade. Among those sectors, Financial Activities (-1,200), Manufacturing (-900) and Wholesale Trade (-400) all reported over-the-year job declines. Employment in Educational Services is up 600 from December 2015.

A loss of 100 jobs was reported in each of the Accommodation & Food Services, Information and Other Services sectors, while employment remained unchanged in the Mining & Logging, Retail Trade and Transportation & Utilities sectors. The Accommodation & Food Services (+2,700) and Retail Trade (+1,300) sectors were among two of three employment sectors to report a gain of at least one-thousand jobs over the year.

Offsetting some of the December job declines were job gains reported in the Construction (+600) and Professional & Business Services (+500) sectors. Despite adding a total of 1,000 jobs in the fourth-quarter of 2016, Construction employment was down 200 from December 2015. Professional & Business Services, the third employment sector to add at least one-thousand jobs over the year, was up 2,200 jobs from December 2015.

Smaller jobs gains were also reported in the Government (+200) and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (+100) sectors.

In December 2016, production workers in the Manufacturing sector earned $18.55 per hour, down five cents from November 2016, and up one-dollar and eight cents from December 2015.