While today’s unemployment rates are significantly lower than the COVID-19 pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, the fear of job losses remains as workers stare down an uncertain economic future.
Experts are mixed in their views of a potential recession. The return of student loan payments, continually high gas prices, persistent inflation, and insurance price escalations are just a few of the factors that could limit consumer spending and potentially prompt another recession. The last economic recession before the pandemic—the Great Recession of 2007-09—sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years.
But as of August 2023, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 3.8%—nearly the same as the same month last year, and up about 0.3 percentage points from July. Regional and state employment varies widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 1.7% in Maryland 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 August 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. Newport County
– August unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
— 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 45,269 people (1,131 unemployed)
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#4. Bristol County
– August unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
— 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 26,716 people (705 unemployed)
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#3. Washington County
– August unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
— 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 71,624 people (1,831 unemployed)
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#2. Kent County
– August unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
— 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 94,271 people (2,725 unemployed)
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#1. Providence County
– August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
— 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 336,508 people (11,529 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
