Occupations generally pay more in Prov. area compared with national averages

DATA FROM THE U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS showed that occupations in the Providence area generally pay more compared with national averages. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
DATA FROM THE U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS showed that occupations in the Providence area generally pay more compared with national averages. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

PROVIDENCE – The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released an economic summary for the Providence area recently showing that while it may still have a jobless rate that is higher than the national average, occupations generally pay more.
Using October’s figures, the federal agency said the not-seasonally adjusted jobless rate for the Providence-Warwick-Fall River area was 6.3 percent, below October 2013’s 9 percent, but still higher than the national rate of 5.5 percent. Providence’s rate was 8.3 percent; Cranston’s jobless rate was 6.4 percent; Warwick, 5.8 percent; Fall River, 8.2 percent.
(In November, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.1 percent; the national rate was 5.8 percent, according to federal data)
Data also showed that the average hourly wage for all occupations in the Providence area was $23, compared with $22.33 nationally.
Accountants and auditors in the Providence area are among several sectors that make more than the national average, $36.01 an hour compared with $34.86. Registered nurses also make more, $35.47 – $2.34 more than the national average, and construction workers, $20.51, which is $3.67 more than the national average. Social and human resource assistants make $14.53, which is 51 cents less than the national average.
New England employer costs are more at $35.27 per hour, compared with a national average of $30.32. Of that number, wages and salaries account for $24.88 in New England, and $21.18 nationally. Benefits account for $10.39 and $9.14, respectively.
Education and health services employed the most people in October with 126,000 people, followed by the trade, transportation and utilities sector at 97,500. Total nonfarm employment increased 1.2 percent in October to 573,100.

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