RI Unemployment Numbers Rise to 62K Tied to Coronavirus

RI Unemployment Numbers Rise to 62K Tied to Coronavirus

New numbers from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training on Wednesday report that 62,000 Rhode Islanders have filed for unemployment or temporary disability insurance.

The numbers continue to show that in less than a month Rhode Island has transformed from near-record low unemployment to now what are record layoffs.

WATCH: Former RI Director of Health Dr. Michael Fine on GoLocal LIVE Each Day at 12 noon 

"An area that lost 5% of its employment—about the typical loss during the Great Recession—showed a 6.2% loss in employment (relative to what would be expected without the recession) even seven to nine years after the recession ended. Population also falls, but by less, such that the employment rate—the share of people with a job—declines by about 2 percentage points. In a community with 200,000 people of working age (about the median for U.S. metro areas), this implies an additional 4,000 people out of work, even years after the recession," according to a new report from the Brookings Institution.

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RI Entered Crisis with Relatively Strong Job Market

Overall employment, last reported by DLT in January, had a total of 11,607 individuals filed for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits in January 2020, which was a decrease of 1,066 from the 12,673 filed a year ago. The number of employed Rhode Island residents was 538,600, up 1,000 from December.

Over the year, the number of employed Rhode Island residents was up 4,200 from January 2019 (534,400).

The Rhode Island labor force totaled 557,500 in January 2020, up 600 from December 2019 and up 2,700 from January 2019 (554,800).