During the month of December Rhode Island’s unemployment rate experience another significant rise. Data shows that there was a 0.7 percent increase in the number of people receiving jobless benefits between the end of November and December. This caused the month’s rate to jump to 10.0 percent, which is the highest it’s been in the last 32 years. For the same period, the national unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent.
For the most part, unemployment rates tend to serve as a lagging indicator of the economic situation in a state. For example, many of those who filled for unemployment in December probably lost their Rhode Island jobs in November. This means that those laid off during the holidays won’t show up in jobless benefits data until January’s figures are released.
According the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, jobs in Rhode Island have continued to drop every month for the last year. In December employers in the state did away with approximately 3,000 jobs. The figures for the whole of 2008 are much more shocking. During the 12-month period somewhere around 22,000 jobs were lost, which Providence Business News says is 4.5 percent of the state’s total non-farm payroll employment. By the end of December 468,800 people held jobs in Rhode Island.
When compared to the rest of the country, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is one of the worst. Only Michigan, where 10.6 percent of the population is without work, faired worse during the last month of 2008. Altogether 8 other states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were notably higher than the national average. Another 18 states had similar levels of joblessness to countrywide norm, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Rhode Island also saw the greatest increase in unemployment from December of 2007 to this same month in 2008 in the nation. At the end of 2007, only 4.8 percent of the state’s population was unable to find work, which shows just how drastically the recession is hitting the Ocean State. Another 11 and Washington, D.C. also saw an increase in unemployment of 3.0 percent or more when compared to their jobless rates of December 2007.
Some of the troubles Rhode Island is experiencing can be attributed to high taxes placed on businesses in the area. With money already tight, the state is not in a position to attract a limit number of employers that are looking to create new jobs. Until the economy begins to recover, this will put Rhode Island at a significant disadvantage unless state officials make changes to local policies.
Those unable to find work in the diminutive state should consider the possibility of securing employment outside of Rhode Island. Since the area is relatively small, expanding one’s job search outside of the area may yield more opportunities and the commute should not be too difficult.