Fall River has highest ?jobless rate in metro

PROVIDENCE – The city of Fall River had the highest jobless rate in December of the four cities in the metro area at 9.3 percent, even though it declined 3.4 percentage points from a year ago, according to information released this month for the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

All four major cities in that region – Cranston, Fall River, Providence and Warwick – experienced jobless rate declines year over year, and, with the exception of Warwick, all had rates higher than the national unemployment rate of 5.4 percent.

After Fall River, Providence had the next highest jobless rate at 7.5 percent, a decline of 3 percentage points from a year ago; Cranston, 6 percent, a 2.7 percentage-point decline; and Warwick, 5.2 percent, a 2.8 percentage point decline.

The Providence area as a whole had a 6.2 percent jobless rate, a 2.9 percentage point drop.

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Total nonfarm employment numbered 570,900 in December, a 1.9 percent increase from a year ago.

Construction employment experienced the largest increase at 5.6 percent, to 20,800 jobs, followed by financial activities at 3.4 percent, to 36,100 jobs. The information sector had the only reported decline at 2 percent, to 9,800 jobs.

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