PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island’s unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level in 16 years.
The state Department of Labor and Training said Thursday that the state unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.1 percent in May. That’s the lowest it’s been since 2001.
Rhode Island’s jobless rate is two-tenths of a percentage point lower than the national rate of 4.3 percent in May. The state rate has fallen 1.3 percentage points since May 2016, when it stood at 5.4 percent.
The department says the number of employed residents is up 10,200 from a year ago, to 532,700.
It says the number of jobs based in Rhode Island totaled 495,400 in May, up 7,100 from May 2016.
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