KINGSTON – University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro said his Current Conditions Index “saw a continuation of the recent momentum for Rhode Island’s economy” in September despite falling compared with the previous month.

Lardaro’s index fell to 33 in September, down from the 42 it reached in both August and June. Other than those two months, the September reading was the highest since December 2007.

Rhode Island’s economy is now in “a ‘typical recession,’ a distinct improvement from 2008, which was the worst year for our state’s economy since 1991,” the economist wrote in a report on the September index.

Lardaro estimates Rhode Island’s economy fell into recession in July 2007, and he now expects a recovery will “hopefully” begin in the first quarter of next year. “The national economy appears to have begun its recovery in July,” he noted.

The Current Conditions Index uses a dozen national and local economic indicators to track the state’s economic performance. A reading of 0 would mean no indicators improved compared with a year earlier, while 100 would mean all 12 improved.

September was the fifth consecutive month that saw Lardaro’s index top its year-earlier level as four of the 12 indicators showed improvement, including increases in both manufacturing wages and the size of the labor force and a decline in new claims for unemployment benefits.

Rhode Island’s manufacturing sector does not appear to have hit bottom as the industry has nationwide, Lardaro said. Total manufacturing hours again fell by double digits in September and the work week shrank by almost 1.4 hours.

Another economic indictor for Rhode Island, the Providence Business News/e-forecasting.com index, also improved for a fifth consecutive month in September when it was released a week ago.

Additional information is available at members.cox.net/lardaro.