WHAT: Rhode Island鈥檚 economy improved in April, attempting for the second month in the past four to break beyond 鈥渇irst gear,鈥� says 溏心vlog免费B站 economist Leonard Lardaro.聽 According to Lardaro, the Current Conditions Index value rose to 67 in April from 58 in March with eight of 12 economic indicators showing improvement. Noteworthy, he says, is that Rhode Island鈥檚 Labor Force continues to improve on a monthly and yearly basis 鈥� both in terms of labor force participation rate and the employment rate. In addition, CCI indicators Retail Sales, Total Manufacturing Hours, Manufacturing Wage, Government Employment, Private Service-Producing Employment and U.S. Consumer Sentiment all showed improvement. Single-Unit Permits, related to housing, which had been an area of weakness also rose for the second time in four months. He noted, however, that weakness in three critical labor market indicators 鈥� New Claims, Employment Service Jobs and Benefit Exhaustions 鈥� continued in April. While there were a few 鈥渄ark clouds,鈥� Lardaro says, the data is the best we have seen in a while and hopes the economic momentum will continue.聽聽
HOW: Use attached information, including summary and charts prepared by Lardaro for news reports. He is available for broadcast and print interviews. Lardaro will be blogging about the new labor data during the coming weeks. Additional information and historical data available online: .
WHEN: June 14, 2024
FOR INFORMATION: Leonard Lardaro, office, 401-874-4128, home, 401-783-9563. Dawn Bergantino, 溏心vlog免费B站 Department of Communications and Marketing, 401-874-4147.
BACKGROUND: The Current Conditions Index, created by Lardaro, measures the strength of the present economic climate in Rhode Island by following the behavior of 12 indicators.