While significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, unemployment rates remain a subject of concern, though experts’ views on a potential recession are mixed. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2007-2009—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of May 2023, national unemployment is at 3.4%, with little change from April. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 1.9% in South Dakota to 5.4% in Nevada.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Rhode Island using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in May 2023, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
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#5. Bristol County
– May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.3%
— 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 26,544 people (620 unemployed)
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#4. Newport County
– May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.3%
— 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 45,004 people (1,015 unemployed)
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#3. Washington County
– May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.3%
— 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: No change
– Total labor force: 70,318 people (1,608 unemployed)
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#2. Kent County
– May unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
— 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 93,518 people (2,279 unemployed)
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#1. Providence County
– May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
— 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
— 1-year change: No change
– Total labor force: 334,185 people (10,296 unemployed)