Where is RI’s Economy Going? — See the Indicators
GoLocalProv
Where is RI’s Economy Going? — See the Indicators
GoLocal takes a look at the numbers and tries to make sense of the range of data and some developing issues that may have big impacts on the Rhode Island economy in the long run.
Gary Sasse, former Director of Administration for the State of Rhode Island and presently the head of the Hassenfeld Institute at Bryant University warns that long-term job growth over the next five years for Rhode Island is estimated to be “growth of 1.4 percent — that's a growth of 7,000 jobs. You don't write your mother about that.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSasse made the comments during his weekly appearance on GoLocal LIVE’s Business Monday.
On Thursday, Governor Gina Raimondo took a more optimistic stance after April's jobs numbers were reported.
“We’re continuing to make key investments in the fundamentals of our economy, and this report is another sign that our strategy is working. We’ve trained thousands of workers, recruited dozens of new companies, supported hundreds of small businesses, and invested millions in roads, bridges and schools," said Governor Gina Raimondo.
"These efforts have resulted in record job numbers and the lowest unemployment rate in three decades. We need to build on this momentum by doubling down on the job training and economic development programs that have helped turned our economy around,” she added.
See What The Indicators Report Below
Where is RI’s Economy Going? — See the Indicators - May 17, 2019
Slow Growth
Once Governor Raimondo's biggest booster and now her biggest detractor, the Wall Street Journal is criticizing her fiscal policies.
In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, "Connecticut’s Tax Roulette: Democrats in Hartford try to drive more hedge funds out of state," -- the WSJ points out that Connecticut is still doing better than RI in GDP growth.
"Population flight is taking a toll on [Connecticut's] economy and budget. Last week the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that Connecticut’s GDP grew a paltry 1% in 2018, 44th in the country and the slowest in the Northeast after Rhode Island. The U.S. economy grew about 3%," wrote the Wall Street Journal editorial.
Jobs
The hallmark of Governor Gina Raimondo's tenure as Governor has been job growth.
For the first three months of 2019, Rhode Island lost jobs, but April's numbers were positive.
RI added 4,200 new jobs.
Recession Worries
Len Lardaro's monthly index of the Rhode Island economy paints a bleak picture of the state's economic performance.
Lardaro said in an email to GoLocal last week, "I continue to remain unable to reject the possibility that Rhode Island has entered the earliest stages of a recession."
RI Tax Burden
With a new tax code taking effect this year, this year’s taxes will be quite different than last year’s -- and for Rhode Islanders, the burden comparatively may be a bit higher.
Rhode Island has the 6th highest tax burden in the United States.
To determine the residents with the biggest tax burdens, WalletHub compared the 50 states across the three tax types of state tax burdens — property taxes, individual income taxes and sales and excise taxes — as a share of total personal income in the state.
New York has the highest in the country and Alaska ranks 50th.
Cost of Living in Rhode Island
According to data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator -- Rhode Island continues to rank poorly for affordability.
As reported on Thursday by CNBC, "the amount you need to make to get by and support a family can vary by a lot. While a household of two adults and two children can manage on less than $60,000 a year in Tennessee, for example, it takes at least $88,000 a year to make ends meet in New York."
Total required income before taxes: $70,153
Estimated housing costs: $12,375
Estimated food costs: $10,245
Positive Economic Rankings
According to a new rankings of the states, RI ranks well overall for economic indicators.
U.S. News and World Reports ranked Rhode Island 26th overall, but inside the magazine's economic rankings Rhode Island ranked:
11th for economic development
33rd for employment
27th for growth
Overall for economics, Rhode Island ranked 20th in the U.S.
Pending Threats
Maybe the biggest economic issue facing Rhode Island are the number of potential threats that the state is facing.
Some of the threats are impacting all states, but others are unique to Rhode Island.
- Rhode Island's most important business sector is facing massive disruption and potentially dramatic job loses if Rhode Island approves Boston-based Partner's HealthCare to acquire Rhode Island's second-largest hospital group - Care New England.
- Decline of retail is a national issue -- more than 6,200 retail locations have closed around the country and Rhode Island has been hit hard. Providence Place is a shadow of the upscale urban shopping mecca that opened 20 years ago.
- Hasbro and CVS which have been the backbone of the Rhode Island corporate community and leading employers in RI for decades are both in flux. Hasbro is looking to exit Pawtucket and build a new headquarters -- will it be in RI?
And, CVS stock has been morbid since its $70B acquisition of Aetna which was approved earlier this year. What will the company do to spark the stock?
