PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island’s unemployment rate has dropped below the national rate, to 4.5 percent.
The state Department of Labor and Training said Thursday the jobless rate for February dipped three-tenths of a percentage point from the revised January rate, to its lowest point since May 2001.
The national rate was 4.7 percent in February.
Preliminary estimates showed that January was the first time in more than 11 years that the Rhode Island rate dropped below the U.S. rate. Revised numbers, released Thursday, show that the January rates were tied.
That makes February the first time since May 2005 that the state’s rate was below the national rate.
Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo says investments in education, job training, business development and infrastructure are paying off.
The state added 2,200 jobs in February.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.