The RI Department of Labor and Training reports that the state's economy performed better than initially reported in 2010, with RI-based jobs increasing by an average of 7,700 each month over original estimates.
The department also reports that the highest unemployment rate recorded in Rhode Island last year was 11.8 percent, not the 12.7 percent originally attributed to the early months of 2010.
This latest information comes from the department’s annual benchmarking process, in which sample job counts gathered through monthly surveys of 1,500 RI employers is replaced with actual tax records from all RI employers for the period of October 2009 to September 2010. Employment estimates for October through December 2010 are then recalculated based on the new benchmark data. Labor force data is then updated based on the new job estimates, revised unemployment insurance claims data and the most recent population data.
The benchmark process also has revealed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment count reached a high of 67,800 unemployed RI residents rather than the 73,300 unemployed originally reported.
Just as the number of unemployed was overestimated, the seasonally adjusted employment count was underestimated, reaching a low for the year of 504,400 employed residents rather than the 503,400 originally reported, and a high for the year of 511,100 employed resident rather than the 507,700 originally reported.
2010 Seasonally Adjusted RI-Based Job Counts (in thousands) |
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Benchmarked |
457.5 |
457.3 |
458.4 |
458.2 |
459.7 |
458.0 |
459.9 |
460.5 |
459.8 |
459.5 |
458.8 |
458.2 |
Previously Published |
453.2 |
452.4 |
452.4 |
448.6 |
451.4 |
451.2 |
451.7 |
451.9 |
450.4 |
451.1 |
449.9 |
449.5 |
2010 Seasonally Adjusted Employment (in thousands) |
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Benchmarked |
504.4 |
506.0 |
507.5 |
508.6 |
509.2 |
509.5 |
509.7 |
509.9 |
510.3 |
510.6 |
510.8 |
511.1 |
Previously Published |
503.4 |
504.9 |
505.8 |
507.0 |
507.7 |
506.8 |
505.5 |
504.6 |
505.1 |
506.2 |
506.1 |
507.1 |
2010 Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment (in thousands) |
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Benchmarked |
67.5 |
67.8 |
67.8 |
67.6 |
67.3 |
67.0 |
66.7 |
66.6 |
66.4 |
66.3 |
66.2 |
66.2 |
Previously Published |
73.3 |
73.2 |
72.7 |
72.3 |
71.2 |
69.3 |
68.3 |
67.5 |
65.9 |
65.3 |
66.1 |
66.0 |
2010 Unemployment Rates (seasonally adjusted) |
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Benchmarked |
11.8% |
11.8% |
11.8% |
11.7% |
11.7% |
11.6% |
11.6% |
11.5% |
11.5% |
11.5% |
11.5% |
11.5% |
Previously Published |
12.7% |
12.7% |
12.6% |
12.5% |
12.3% |
12.0% |
11.9% |
11.8% |
11.5% |
11.4% |
11.6% |
11.5% |
For the month of December 2010, the count of RI-based jobs was revised up from 449,500 to 458,200, showing an improvement of 8,700 jobs. The sectors which experienced the largest upward revisions in December 2010 as a result of the benchmarking process were Accommodation & Food Services (+2,900), Administrative & Waste Services (+2,400), Retail Trade (+2,100), Wholesale Trade (+1,100) and Manufacturing (+900). Approximately half of the gain in Administrative & Waste Services can be attributed to employment services, a subsector which includes temporary help agencies. Most of the gain in Accommodation & Food Services (+2,900) can be attributed to Full Service restaurants.
Offsetting the upward revisions were smaller downward revisions in the Construction (-600), Transportation & Utilities (-400), Other Services (-300) and Government
(-200) sectors.
As part of the benchmarking process, unadjusted establishment employment for 2009 and 2010 and seasonally adjusted employment counts for 2006 to 2010 are also revised, as are labor force statistics. This data is available through the Labor Market Information online data center at www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi.
The RI Department of Labor and Training offers employment services,
educational services and economic opportunity to both individuals and
employers. DLT protects Rhode Island’s workforce by enforcing labor
laws, prevailing wage rates and workplace health and safety standards.
The department also provides temporary income support to unemployed
and temporarily disabled workers. For more information on the programs
and services available to all Rhode Islanders, please call the RI Department
of Labor and Training at (401) 462-8000 or visit the web site at www.dlt.ri.gov.
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