At the end of March 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released revised job numbers for RI and all other states based on employment data reported under the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program by all employers through June 2011. Since June 2011, the subsequent monthly job numbers have been estimated based on a sample of employers in each state. The next annual revision will be completed in March 2013.

The published monthly job numbers data produced according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology indicate that RI lost 2,200 jobs between March 2011 and March 2012. However, based on preliminary UI employment data that DLT now has available through March 2012, DLT has produced projected estimates of the expected revisions in its job numbers from July 2011 through March 2012. The recent DLT projections show a markedly different picture from the official published numbers. DLT projections indicate that RI actually added some 4,800 jobs from March 2011 to March 2012.

We believe these DLT projections, while based on preliminary UI data and several assumptions, are good approximations of what the RI job numbers will look like once the data are officially revised again by BLS next year. The estimates are the sole responsibility of DLT (not official BLS numbers). They put the number of jobs at RI businesses in March 2012 at 464,700 which is 7,000 higher than the official published figure.

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