The RI Department of Labor and Training announced today that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September fell 0.2 of a percentage point from August, reversing a two-month increase. In comparison, the national unemployment rate inched up 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.7 percent last month.

The number of unemployed RI residents in September stood at 28,500, reflecting a drop of 300 from the August level of 28,800 and a decline of 1,200 from last year’s level of 29,700. The number of employed Rhode Islanders climbed by 9,900 over the month to 552,000 in September 2007 and was up 2,700 from September 2006.

On a related note, the total number of seasonally adjusted, non-farm jobs in the state reached 499,800 in September, up 300 jobs from the previous month.

“This represents the eighth consecutive month of job growth in Rhode Island,” says Adelita Orefice, director of the RI Department of Labor and Training.

The number of RI jobs in September represented a net job gain of 300 from August’s revised job count of 499,500. Ocean State employment has grown by 3,900 jobs since the beginning of the year.

From August to September of this year, the largest employment gains were reported in the Accommodation & Food Services (+500), Other Services (+400) and Health Care & Social Assistance (+300) sectors.  Smaller gains were noted in the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (+200) and in the Retail Trade (+100) sectors.

The boost in Accommodation & Food Services employment was attributed to reported gains in the state’s restaurant industry. Within Other Services employment, increases were noted in Repair & Maintenance Services and in Personal Services. The gain in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector was due mainly to an increase in social assistance employment.

The month’s gains were partially offset by job losses of 300 each in the Professional & Business Services, Educational Services, and Government sectors, along with a loss of 100 each in the Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, and Information sectors.

From September 2006 to September 2007, RI jobs grew 4,300, a 0.9 percent increase. The largest annual employment gains occurred in the Professional & Business Services (+1,800); Health Care & Social Assistance (+1,300); Construction (+1,100); and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (+900) sectors.

Manufacturing employment experienced the largest over-the-year loss (-1,400), followed by declines in Government (-700) and Wholesale Trade (-400).
                                                                                                                                                                       
Hours and Earnings

In September 2007, production workers in the Manufacturing sector earned $13.95 per hour. The average hourly production wage was up one cent from August and up 50 cents per hour from a year ago. Manufacturing employees worked an average of 39.5 hours per week in September, unchanged over the month and up 0.3 of an hour since September 2006.

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