Finding jobs in Rhode Island has been becoming progressively more difficult for some time now.
According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state’s jobless rate rose again in June for the 26th consecutive month. Unemployment increased 0.3 percent from May’s 12.1 percent to 12.4 percent. Not only is the significantly higher than the national jobless rate of 9.5 percent, it is also the highest rate the state has seen in over 30 years.
For the most part, high taxes and small size have kept Rhode Island’s economy limited. This caused the state’s employment problems to begin before the rest of the nation started to take note of the possibility of a full-scale economic recession. Despite this, Rhode Island’s jobless rate was still manageable during the same month last year. In June of 2008 only 7.7 percent of the state’s population was receiving unemployment benefits.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were approximately 2,300 more people receiving jobless benefits in Rhode Island in June than there were during the previous month. This took the number of people in the state who collect unemployment to somewhere around 70,700.
Despite the continuing rise in unemployment, some experts believe that the rate of decline in Rhode Island is beginning to show some signs of slowing down. During the first quarter of this year, the average number of people losing their jobs in Rhode Island each month was 2,1000. The most recent statistics show that the second quarter has seen significant improvement on this front. The average number of people who lost their employment during this time frame was 700 per month.
During June, the largest declines in jobs in Rhode Island were seen in the accommodation and food services industry and the government sector. Combined, these two areas of employment lost approximately 1,200 jobs. The large loss of government jobs was likely the result of a newly passed state budge that called for a large cut in funding to both city and town governments. As a result, many layoffs ensued.
The manufacturing sector also lost jobs in June, with employers doing away with roughly 300 positions. Another 200 jobs were lost in the construction industry. Both of these industries have been suffering tremendously across the nation for some time now.
Some of the job losses in Rhode Island were made up for by several sectors that added new positions. Job gains occurred in the retail industry, the education and health services sector, finance and professional and business services.
