Rhode Island regains one-third of jobs lost in pandemic

AP,
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
In this photo taken Thursday, June 4, 2020, a pedestrian wearing a mask walks past reader board advertising a job opening for a remodeling company, in Seattle. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, and 2.5 million jobs were added — a surprisingly positive reading in the midst of a recession that has paralyzed the economy and depressed the job market in the wake of the viral pandemic.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island has regained about one-third of the jobs it lost in March and April when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the state Department of Labor and Training said Thursday.

The state added about 21,000 jobs in June as the state’s economic recovery plan took root, dropping the unemployment rate to 12.4%, still higher than the June national unemployment rate of 11.1%.

Rhode Island lost more than 98,000 jobs after the pandemic struck in March, but has regained 33,300 of them in the three months since, according to department statistics.

The state unemployment rate peaked at 18% in April, but dropped to 16.4% in May.

Categories: Coronavirus, News, Rhode Island
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