PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island’s unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent in December.
The state Department of Labor and Training said Thursday that the jobless rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point from the November rate of 4.3 percent.
The U.S. unemployment rate held steady from November to December at 4.1 percent.
Rhode Island’s rate of unemployed was down half a percentage point from a year earlier, when it was 4.9 percent.
The department says the state lost 600 jobs in December, but has 6,000 more jobs than a year ago.
Many lost jobs were in the accommodation and food services sector and wholesale trade.
The state’s labor force totaled 554,900 in December, which is up 100 from November and up 4,300 from December 2016.
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