PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island’s unemployment rate remains the highest in the country despite a drop last month.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the jobless rates for all 50 states on Friday. Rhode Island’s rate of 8.3 percent tops the list, higher than Nevada’s 8 percent and Illinois’ 7.9 percent. The Rhode Island rate fell from 8.7 percent in March.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee called the April employment report “the best we have seen.” He cited not just the drop in the overall jobless rate but increases in the number of Rhode Island jobs and the number of employed residents.
The state has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country for years.
The U.S. unemployment rate in April was 6.3 percent.
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