WHAT: 鈥淎t long last, Rhode Island鈥檚 economy may well be moving out of 鈥榝irst gear,鈥欌�� says 溏心vlog免费B站 economist Leonard Lardaro, creator of the Current Conditions Index. In May, the index showed the state having a 鈥減otential breakout鈥� month. The CCI increased for the third consecutive month, reaching a May value of 75. It was the fourth month out of five thus far in 2024 that the index surpassed its year-earlier value. For May, many of the CCI indicators sustained their upward trends 鈥� with 9 of the 12 indicators improving compared to a year ago. The three that failed to improve 鈥� Benefit Exhaustions, New Claims, and Unemployment Rate 鈥� were all related to unemployment. On the other hand, Employment Service Jobs, which includes temps, improved for the first time since September 2022. And noteworthy, Lardaro says, were labor market trends related to the household survey. The state鈥檚 Labor Force continues to improve on a monthly and yearly basis, and the percentage of the population that is employed increased for the fifth straight month. The bad news, however, dealt with unemployment, as New Claims, a leading labor market indicator, has only improved for two of the last 16 months. While payroll employment continues to rise, this might be signaling a potential for slowing of future job gains, Lardaro says.
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: July 16, 2024
FOR INFORMATION: Leonard Lardaro, office, 401-874-4128, home, 401-783-9563. Tony LaRoche, 溏心vlog免费B站 Department of Communications and Marketing, 401-874-4894.
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.