BLS: Employment rose 1.9% in December in R.I.

THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS said Warwick had the lowest jobless rate among select cities in December at 5.2 percent. / COURTESY BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS said Warwick had the lowest jobless rate among select cities in December at 5.2 percent. / COURTESY BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

PROVIDENCE – Total nonfarm employment numbered 570,900 in December, an increase of 1.9 percent, or 10,400, compared with December 2013, according to data recently released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Of that number, construction jobs grew the most at 5.6 percent, to 20,800, followed by financial activities, which had a 3.4 percent gain, to 36,100 jobs, and leisure and hospitality, which increased 3.1 percent to 62,300 jobs.
Government jobs were flat at 71,500 year over year. The information sector registered the only drop year over year at 2 percent to 9,800 jobs.

The federal agency also released jobless rates for select cities in Rhode Island, showing that Warwick, at 5.2 percent, had the lowest unemployment rate, followed by Cranston at 6 percent, Providence at 7.5 percent and Fall River at 9.3 percent. With the exception of Warwick, all the cities had jobless rates higher than the national average of 5.4 percent in December.

But each city recorded a significant drop in its jobless rate year over year, with Fall River experiencing the greatest percentage point decline at 3.4, followed by Providence at 3, Warwick, 2.8 and Cranston, 2.7. The national jobless rate also dropped 1.1 percentage points.

The BLS also said average hourly wages in the Providence area at $23 pay more than the national average, which was $22.33.
Of the occupations listed, accountants and auditors were paid the most at $36.01 an hour (the national average is $34.86), and fast food cooks were paid the least at $9.36 an hour, compared with the national average of $9.06 an hour.

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