Rhode Island total employment averaged 476,357, in 2004, an increase of 3,799 (+0.8%) jobs from 2003.  Private sector employment (412,209) accounted for all of the job growth, by adding 4,466 (+1.1%) jobs while Government employment dropped by 667 (-1.0%) positions.  This marks the first annual Government sector job decline since 1998.   

The Administrative & Waste Services sector experienced the largest job growth between 2003 and 2004, adding 2,244 (+9.8%) positions.  This sector comprises establishments performing routine support activities for the day-to-day operations of other organizations.  Activities performed include: office administration, hiring and placement of personnel, document preparation and similar clerical services, solicitation, collection, security and surveillance services, cleaning and waste disposal services.  Administrative & Waste Services led all twenty sectors in employment gains for each of the four quarters in 2004.  

Employment in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector increased by 1,464 (+2.1%) positions, the second largest employment sector growth from 2003.  The Ambulatory Health Care Services (+503) and Hospitals (+424) sub-sectors experienced large gains, while the two remaining sub-sectors, Social Assistance (+348) and Nursing and Residential Care Facilities (+189) also reported job gains.  

Management of Companies & Enterprise (+788), Professional & Technical Services (+709) and Accommodation & Food Services (+690) complete the top five sectors in employment growth, with Management of Companies & Enterprise (+10.4%) leading all sectors on a percentage basis.   

Employment declines were noted in seven sectors in 2004.  Manufacturing employment was down 1,556 (-2.7%) from its 2003 level.  More than half of the Manufacturing sub-sectors reported job losses, with the largest occurring in Miscellaneous Manufacturing (-470), Textile Mills (-332) and Textile Product Mills (-322).  Other notable Manufacturing declines were in Printing and Related Support Activities (-176), Electrical Equipment and Appliance Manufacturing (-158) and Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing (-117).  

As noted earlier, Government sector employment was down 667 jobs between 2003 and 2004.  This sector experienced the second largest employment drop during this period.  State, Federal, and Local government lost 298, 230, and 140 jobs respectively.
 

Quarterly Census of Rhode Island Employment and Wages
2004 Statewide Employment by NAICS

 
Transportation & Warehousing reported a 1.7 percent employment drop, down 161 jobs from 2003.  Other modest employment declines were experienced in the Information (-147), Wholesale Trade (-142), Retail Trade (-104) and Utilities (-76) sectors.  The Utilities sector experienced the largest employment drop on a percentage basis, down 6.5 percent from last year’s total.

Health Care & Social Assistance was Rhode Island ’s largest employment sector in 2004, employing 71,517 workers.  This sector represented 15.0 percent of the state’s total employment.  

Government was the second largest employment sector, employing 64,149 individuals.  Manufacturing (56,854), Retail Trade (52,960), Accommodation & Food Services (42,402) and Finance and Insurance (25,604) complete the top five sectors in average employment.

Mining represents the smallest segment of the state’s employment.  In 2004, Rhode Island employed 188 workers in the Mining sector.  Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, (799) was the only other sector to report employment figures less than a thousand.  

A total of over $17.9 billion in wages was paid in 2004, an increase of $723 million (+4.2%) from 2003.  The average annual private sector wage was $35,959, an increase of $1,099 (+3.2%) from the $34,860 earned in 2003.  The average weekly wage in the private sector increased $22 to $692. 

Workers in the Information sector earned an average of $59,236 in 2004, reflecting an increase of $6,466 (+12.3%) from the $52,770 earned in 2003.  The Internet Publishing and Broadcasting (+$10,022) and ISP’s, Search Portals, and Data Processing (+$19,951) sub-sectors were the catalyst for the increase, with wages growing by 35.9 percent and 31.3 percent respectively.*   

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting workers were also recipients of a significant annual wage increase.  Wages were up $4,062 from 2003 earnings.   The sector’s 16.5 percent wage increase was the largest percentage gain of all sectors.  The Fishing, Hunting, and Trapping sub-sector annual wage grew by $18,573, a 39.3 percent increase.  

Wages in the Finance & Insurance sector averaged $56,514 in 2004, up $2,629 (+4.9%) from the 2003 total of $53,885.  Gains in the Securities, Commodity Contracts and Investments (+$10,807) and Credit Intermediation (+$2,378) sub-sectors off set the wage drop in the Funds, Trusts and Other Financial Vehicles (-$7,511) and Insurance Carriers (-$87) sub-sectors.

Wholesale Trade (+$1,909), Manufacturing (+$1,647), Health Care & Social Assistance (+$1,477), Professional & Technical Services (+$1,353) and Administrative & Waste Services (+$1,111) were the only other sectors to report an annual wage increase in excess of one-thousand dollars.

Three sectors, Management of Companies & Enterprise (-$5,417), Utilities (-$4,058), and Mining (-$1,031), reported an annual wage decrease between 2003 and 2004.

In all, ten sectors earned wages above the private sector average annual wage of $35,959.

Employees in the Management of Companies & Enterprise sector earned and average of $78,384 in 2004, making them the highest paid sector workers in the Rhode Island .   This sector accounted for 4.4 percent of the state’s total private wages, while representing only 2.0 percent of the state’s total private employment. 

Utilities workers earned $66,146, in 2004, the second highest annual wage.  Information ($59,236), Finance & Insurance ($56,541), Professional & Technical Services ($53,984) and Wholesale Trade ($51,622) are the remaining sectors to earn over fifty-thousand dollars in 2004.

Other sectors earning above average annual wages include the Government ($48,348) sector, Mining ($44,680), Construction ($43,627), Manufacturing ($40,813) and Education (37,775).

Accommodation & Food Services ($14,473) and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation ($20,063) reported the lowest annual wage, reflecting the seasonal and part-time nature of these sectors.  

Below average annual wages were also earned in the Other Services ($23,352), Administrative & Waste Services ($24,155), Retail Trade ($24,484), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting ($28,662) sectors.  

* Quarterly bonuses and exercised stock options are included in the calculation and therefore may impact the average annual wage.

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Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training
Labor Market Information
1511 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI 02920-4407

Phone: (401) 462-8740
Fax: (401) 462-8766
TDD: (401) 462-8006
E-mail LMI