Expanding & Declining Industries

Rhode Island employment is expected to increase by over 55,000 jobs during the 2004-2014 projection period. Employment in 2014 is projected to reach 573,437, an increase of 55,292 (10.7%) from the 2004 employment level.  

While job gains are anticipated in nearly all major industrial sectors of the economy, individual industries within sectors are projected to grow and decline at different rates.  Despite job losses that are expected to continue to occur in the Manufacturing sector, substantial job growth is projected for RI’s Chemical Manufacturing Industry. In contrast, while employment in the Finance and Insurance sector is projected to grow at above average rates (16.8%), limited employment growth (2.7%) is projected for Insurance Carriers and Related Activities, an industry within that sector.

Expanding industry data can be used to segment the labor market, thereby identifying employers that are more likely to be hiring. This type of market segmentation is expected to facilitate job development because the job seeker or counselor is able to focus his/her job search on the employers that are in the faster growing industries.

Any industry that is expected to grow by at least 15 percent and add a minimum of one hundred jobs during the 2004-2014 projection period or any industry that is projected to add a minimum of 100 jobs annually, regardless of the growth rate is classified as an “expanding industry.”  

A declining industry is considered to be any industry, with a minimum employment level of 100, that is expected to show negative employment levels resulting in the loss of fifty jobs or more during the 2004-2014 projection period.

The following tables show Rhode Island’s expanding and declining industries at the three-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) subsector level.  It is recommended that these tables be used in conjunction with the new Rhode Island Research and Economic Database (RI Red).  Counseling and placement professionals, as well as job seekers and students can use this information to identify individual employers that may be adding jobs and the types of positions they may be hiring. The declining industries table can be used to identify the types of jobs that are being phased out, indicating the current skills of displaced workers – a potential supply of trained labor. “RI Red” is available on the Department of Labor and Training website at: www.dlt.ri.gov/rired