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Rhode Island
total employment averaged 477,664, in 2005, an increase of 1,307 (+0.3%)
jobs from 2004. Private sector
employment (414,907) accounted for all of the job growth, adding 2,698
(+0.7%) jobs while Government employment dropped by 1,391 (-2.2%)
positions. State employment at
the government level decreased by 733 positions, followed by Local (-557)
and Federal (-101) government.
The Health Care &
Social Services sector reported significant statewide employment growth
between 2004 and 2005, adding 1,258 (+1.8%) positions, the largest job
gain of all twenty sectors during this period. The Ambulatory Health Care Services sub-sector added 801 (+3.9%)
positions over the year, the largest gain within the Health Care &
Social Services sector. The
remaining three sub-sectors, Hospitals (+492), Nursing & Residential
Care Facilities (+120) and Social Assistance (+85) also posted annual job
growth.
Employment in the Professional, Scientific & Technical Services sector
increased by 851 (+4.3%) positions, the second largest employment sector
growth between 2004 and 2005. This
sector is comprised of establishments that specialize in performing
professional, scientific, and technical activities for others and requires
a high degree of expertise and training.
Construction (+717),
Education (+599) and Management of Companies & Enterprises (+333)
complete the top five sectors in employment growth. The Mining sector added 64 (+34.0%) jobs and led all sectors in job
growth on a percentage basis.
Job declines were noted
in five of the twenty employment sectors in 2005. Manufacturing employment was down 1,842 (-3.2%) from its 2004 level
of 56,854. Fifteen of the
twenty-one Manufacturing sub-sectors reported job losses, with the largest
occurring in Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing (-456),
Miscellaneous Manufacturing (-286) and Electrical Equipment &
Appliance Manufacturing (-229). Modest
but positive job gains were noted in a few Manufacturing sub-sectors
between 2004 and 2005, with the Printed and Related Support Activities
(+65) and Furniture and Related Product (+56) sub-sectors reporting the
largest gains.
As noted earlier,
Government sector employment was down 1,391 jobs between 2004 and 2005,
the second largest sector employment drop during this period.
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Retail Trade experienced a 454 employment decline in 2005 when compared to
employment figures in 2004. The
Food & Beverage Stores sub-sector reported a loss of 401 (-4.4%) jobs over
the year. Most of the job losses
in that sub-sector can be attributed to the closure of a supermarket chain. Modest job declines were noted in the Information (-88) and
Transportation & Warehousing (-30) sectors, the final two sectors to
experience a job loss during this period.
Health Care & Social
Assistance represented
Rhode Island
’s largest employment sector in 2005, employing 72,775 workers. This sector accounted for 15.2 percent of the state’s total
employment.
Government was the second largest employment sector, employing 62,758
individuals. Manufacturing
(55,012), Retail Trade (52,506), and Accommodation & Food Services
(42,693) complete the top five sectors in average annual employment.
Mining represents the
smallest segment of the state’s employment. In 2005, Rhode Island
employed 252 workers in the Mining sector. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, (869) was the only other
sector to report employment figures less than a thousand.
A total of over $18.5
billion in wages was paid in 2005, an increase of $577 million (+3.2%) from
2004. The average annual private
sector wage was $37,064, an increase of $1,105 (+3.1%) from the $35,959 earned
in 2004. The average weekly wage
in the private sector increased $21 from 2004, to $713 in 2005.
Employees in the Management
of Companies & Enterprises sector earned an average of $84,573 in 2005,
reflecting the largest annual private sector wage increase of $6,189 (+7.9%)
from the $78,384 earned in 2004. This sector also represented the largest annual wage increase on a
percentage basis.
The Wholesale Trade
workforce was also a recipient of a significant annual wage increase. Wages in this sector were up $2,725 (+5.3%) from 2004 earnings. The Electronic Markets & Agents & Brokers sub-sector
experienced a $5,554 (+8.1%) increase from last year, followed by the Merchant
Wholesalers, Durable Goods (+$2,290) sub-sector.
The Information (+$2,197),
Education (+$1,313) and Administrative & Waste Services (+$1,273) sectors
also reported sizable annual wage gains.
Agriculture, Fishing &
Hunting (-$1,830) and Mining (-$1,279) were the only two private sectors to
experience an annual wage decline.
In private sector, ten
sectors reported earnings above the 2005 average annual wage of $37,064.
As mentioned earlier, Management of Companies & Enterprise employees
earned over $84,000 in 2005, making them the highest paid private sector
workers in Rhode Island. This sector accounted for
4.8 percent of the state’s total private wages, while representing only 2.1
percent of the state’s total private employment.
Utilities workers earned
$66,439, the second highest annual wage in 2005. Other sectors to earn over fifty-thousand dollars include the
Information ($61,433), Finance & Insurance ($56,611), Professional &
Technical Services ($54,734) and Wholesale Trade ($54,347) sectors.
The remaining sectors
earning above the average annual wage in the private sector were the
Construction ($44,792), Mining ($43,401), Manufacturing ($41,745) and
Education ($39,088) sectors.
Accommodation & Food
Services ($14,729) and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation ($21,062) reported
the lowest annual wage, reflecting the seasonal and part-time nature of these
sectors.
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