Rhode Island’s Economy on the Up: Eight Indicators Show Positive Growth, Labor Market Improves Despite Challenges

In recent months, Rhode Island’s economy has shown signs of improvement, with the Current Conditions Index value rising to 67 from 58 in March. This progress is attributed to eight out of 12 economic indicators displaying positive growth.

According to University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro, the state’s labor force also saw improvement in both the labor force participation rate and employment rate. Several key indicators such as Retail Sales, Total Manufacturing Hours, Manufacturing Wage, Government Employment, Private Service-Producing Employment, and U.S. Consumer Sentiment all showed improvement. Even Single-Unit Permits, a housing-related indicator that had been weak, saw growth for the second time in four months.

Despite this progress, certain labor market indicators like New Claims, Employment Service Jobs, and Benefit Exhaustions remained areas of weakness. Lardaro acknowledged the existence of a few challenges but overall, he is optimistic about the economic momentum moving forward.

Lardaro has prepared a summary and charts for news reports to provide further details on this progress. He is available for interviews and will be discussing the new labor data in his upcoming blog posts. Additional information and historical data can be accessed online at .

For more information or media inquiries, contact Leonard Lardaro at his office at 401-874-4128 or his home at 401-783-9563 or Dawn Bergantino at the URI Department of Communications and Marketing at 401-874-4147