RI unemployment rate below US rate for first time since 2005

March 9, 2017 7:25 pm

By: The Associated Press

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Twitter: @ABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The unemployment rate in Rhode Island has dropped below the national rate for the first time in more than 11 years.

The state Department of Labor and Training said on Thursday that the unemployment rate dipped to 4.7 percent in January, one-tenth of a percentage point lower than the national rate of 4.8 percent.

The last time unemployment was below the U.S. rate was May 2005.

The rate in Rhode Island fell two-tenths of a percentage point from December, when it stood at 4.9 percent. It was down seven-tenths of a percentage point since January 2016.

The number of jobs in Rhode Island has grown by 4,600 since January 2016, and the number of unemployed Rhode Islanders has dropped by 3,900 in that same period.