PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – State officials say Rhode Island lost 600 jobs from January to February, but the state unemployment rate dropped slightly during that period.
The state Department of Labor and Training said Thursday the number of Rhode Island-based jobs in February was 494,600, down 1,600 from the previous February.
The state unemployment rate in February dropped to 3.9 percent, down from 4 percent in January, and four-tenths of a percentage point lower than February 2018.
The state rate is also one-tenth of a percentage points higher than the national rate.
The number of unemployed Rhode Islanders fell by 400 from January to 21,900 in February.
The state’s labor force, the total number of people either working or looking for work was down 800 in February from January.
