RI Now Has 2nd Highest Unemployment in U.S.

RI Now Has 2nd Highest Unemployment in U.S.

Rhode Island has the second-highest unemployment in the United States according to data released on Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in August, 13.2 percent, followed by Rhode Island, 12.8 percent, and Hawaii and New York, 12.5 percent each. Nebraska had the lowest rate, 4.0 percent, followed by Utah, 4.1 percent, and Idaho, 4.2 percent,” said the federal agency.

"Rhode Island numbers are bucking the national trend. Between July and August 2020, 41 states saw their unemployment rates drop, and the nation’s unemployment rate declined by 1.8% to 8.4%. Massachusetts unemployment declined by 4.9% to 11.3%," said Gary Sasse, head of the Hassenfeld Institute at Bryant University.

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"These results seem to be putting Rhode Island unto the same relative position it experienced during the Great Recession," added Sasse.

Rhode Island has not been so poorly rated since the Great Recession when Rhode Island then, too. had the second-worst unemployment to only Michigan. 

National Look

In total, 29 states had jobless rates lower than the U.S. figure of 8.4 percent, 10 states had higher rates, and 11 states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation. But Rhode Island's rate increased 1.5 percent.

In August, the largest unemployment rate decreases occurred in Massachusetts (-4.9 percentage points) and Arizona (-4.8 points). Rates declined over the month by at least 2.0 percentage points in an additional 14 states. The only over-the-month jobless rate increases occurred in Kentucky (+3.1 percentage points) and Rhode Island (+1.5 points).

The news was bad at every level for Rhode Island as the state has seen one of the largest increases in the country of any state according to the new data, "The largest unemployment rate increases from August 2019 occurred in Hawaii (+9.8 percentage points), Nevada (+9.4 points), and Rhode Island (+9.3 points). The smallest over-the-year rate increases occurred in Nebraska (+0.9 percentage point) and Alaska (+1.2 points)."