By WPRO News and The Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Rhode Island’s unemployment rate ticked down to 3.9 percent in September and the number of jobs based in the state stayed the same.
The state Department of Labor and Training said Thursday that the rate was one-tenth of a percentage point lower than in August. It’s two-tenths of a percentage point higher than the national rate and six-tenths of a percentage point lower than a year ago.
“This is, I think, a really big day for us to be able to say that we’ve broken that 4.0 mark. We’re at 3.9 percent. The last time it was this low, it was 29 years ago, June 1989, and I was 5 years old,” said DLT spokeswoman Nora Crowley.
The data shows that the number of jobs based in Rhode Island was unchanged from the August revised employment level of 502,100.
A gain of 600 jobs was reported in manufacturing, as well as in the professional and business services sector. Jobs were lost in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, and retail trade.
The job count is up 7,000 from September 2017.
“We’ve seen a steady decline but… getting past that 4.0 mark, hopefully people can feel good about the progress the economy is making in Rhode Island. It’s a good day,” Crowley said.
