PROVIDENCE — The unemployment rate in Rhode Island decreased compared with the prior month for the first time in nearly three years in October, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training said Friday.

The jobless rate fell one-tenth of a point to 12.9 percent last month, down from 13 percent in September, the department reported. The total number of unemployed Rhode Island residents fell by 400 to 73,700.

The New England Economic Partnership, a nonprofit forecasting group, has projected that the state’s unemployment rate will peak next spring at 14.1 percent and will stay in double-digits until 2012.

Rhode Island payrolls shed 1,100 jobs in October following the loss of 2,800 jobs in September. The total number of jobs in Rhode Island fell last month to 456,600, the lowest number since April 1998.

The state’s resident employment – meaning the number of Rhode Islanders who hold jobs, whether here or elsewhere – fell by 200 to 496,100. The state’s labor force has shrunk by more than 10,000 people since July and stood at 569,800 in October.

Five industries in Rhode Island added jobs in October: health care and social assistance (500 jobs); construction (400 jobs); wholesale trade (300 jobs); professional and business services (200 jobs); and arts, entertainment and recreation (100 jobs).

Seven sectors reported job declines, with the largest decreases in retail (600 jobs), educational services and government (500 jobs each).

The unemployment rate also fell in Massachusetts last month, dropping four-tenths of a point to 8.9 percent.