Unemployment rate drops slightly in RI

Rachael Perry

By: News Staff

news@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – As Rhode Island’s unemployment rate dropped slightly to 5.5 percent in October, private sector employment reached an all-time high.              

The state Department of Labor and Training said Thursday that unemployment was down one-tenth of a percentage point from the September rate of 5.6 percent.              

But Rhode Island remained above the national rate of 4.9 percent.              

Rhode Island now has about 431,900 private sector jobs.          

DLT says that surpasses the peak pre-recession number of 430,800 in December 2006.           

The state says the total number of jobs based in Rhode Island increased by 1,700 jobs from the revised September estimate of 490,700.

This ends two consecutive months of declines, which totaled 800 jobs.

The state unemployment rate is down one-tenth of a percentage point from the rate a year ago.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2016

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