unemployment article

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT ALL TIME HIGH

By: Jen Bundy

Rhode Island doesn’t just hold the title of the smallest state now. In fact, Rhode Island now has the highest job rate in the United States with the unemployment rate at a staggering 8.8% percent. Rhode Island surpassed the nation average of 6.1% along with Michigan, the poster child for unemployment. This recent surge in unemployment within the state, has reached the highest it has been in sixteen years.

The slump in Rhode Island’s job market began years ago when the housing market collapsed within the state, which many financial advisors took as a statewide recession. In nine months Rhode Island lost 12,600 jobs causing the unemployment rate to jump from 5.7% to 8.8%. Today with the whole nation in the midst of an economic recession, Rhode Island is one of the states being hit the hardest. U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin wrote in letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, “This economic situation has taken a toll on our state’s social service centers, food pantries and homeless shelters, and it is clear that the worst is yet to come.” (Langevin wrote the letter to reiterate his support for the federal stimulus package which hopes to relieve some of the economic pressure on Rhode Islanders.)