WPRO News and the Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Rhode Island has dropped out of the top 10 states with the worst unemployment rate for the first time in nearly eight years.
The state’s 6.1 percent unemployment rate in April ranked 12th in the nation.
According to the state Department of Labor and Training, it’s the first time Rhode Island hasn’t ranked in the top 10 since June 2007.
Department spokesman Mike Healey says at that time, Rhode Island’s 5 percent unemployment rate put it 11th among states, tied with Wisconsin.
In March, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate of 6.3 percent put it 10th among states, tied with Georgia.
The national unemployment rate in April was 5.4 percent, seven-tenths of a percentage point less than Rhode Island’s rate.
