Rhode Island’s unemployment rate has ticked up to 4.3 percent. The state Department of Labor and Training said Thursday that the jobless rate for July was up one-tenth of a percentage point from the June rate.
It’s still significantly lower than in previous years when it reached peaks of more than 11 percent during the recession. The July 2016 rate was 5.4 percent. The national unemployment rate was also 4.3 percent in July. That’s down one-tenth of a percentage point from June.
Rhode Island added 3,100 jobs in July, mostly in the private sector. The state says the number of jobs in Rhode Island overall is up 8,500 from a year ago. The labor force totaled 556,900 in July, which is up 400 from June and up 4,200 from July 2016.
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