Rhode Island Lays off more

Rhode Island Jobless Rate Hits 16-year High

www.Employmentcrossing.com


Rhode Islands recession deepened as employers slashed payrolls for the ninth straight month, according to the Providence Journal. And the Ocean States unemployment rate climbed to 8.8 percent last month, its highest level in 16 years.
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Jobs in September shrank by 1,300 and the jobless grew to 50,200 — the highest on record, according to the state Department of Labor and Training.

The state unemployment rate for the last three months has averaged above 8 percent, which prompted state labor officials to offer another round of extended unemployment benefits, expected to begin mid-November.

During the last nine months, the state has lost roughly 12,600 jobs and the unemployment rate has jumped more than 3 percentage points, from 5.7 percent to 8.8 percent.

The latest job numbers come amid reports this week that the national economy is on the brink of a deep recession.

Economists have been saying for months that Rhode Island — where the unemployment rate in July and August was the second-highest in the country, behind Michigan — is already in a recession.

A recession is generally defined as a prolonged, broad-based decline in economic activity.

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