Rhode Island’s economy showed weakness in several key indicators in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Rhode Island Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Quarterly Briefing, released today by The Center for Global and Regional Economic Studies at Bryant University and the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC).
Rhode Island-based jobs (non-farm employment) continued to rise in Q1 2025, up by 800 jobs quarter-over-quarter and 5,400 jobs year-over-year. At the same time, however, the number of employed Rhode Islanders trended in the opposite direction for the third straight quarter, down by 2,300 jobs in Q1.
Rhode Island’s labor force participation rate also declined for a third straight quarter in Q1 2025, reaching 64.1 percent. Rhode Island’s rate continued to trail the New England region (65.3 percent) while exceeding the national rate (62.5 percent).
The Ocean State’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent in Q1 2025—the seventh straight quarter in which it has either increased or held steady. Since reaching a historic low of 2.7 percent in Q2 2023, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate has grown to significantly exceed rates in New England (3.9 percent in Q1) and the U.S. (4.1 percent).
Net sales tax receipts, a key indicator of aggregate demand, decreased 2.4 percent in Q1 2025 (seasonally adjusted). Year-over-year, however, net sales tax receipts grew by 0.4 percent.
Rhode Island’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.9 percent in Q4 2025 (annualized), matching New England’s pace but lagging the U.S. (2.5 percent). GDP data from Q1 2025 are not yet available.
“We saw some cautionary signs last quarter, but the Q1 data provide stronger evidence of a weakening economy,” said Michael DiBiase, President and CEO of RIPEC. “It is encouraging that Rhode Island-based jobs continued to grow in Q1, and that GDP grew for the fourth straight quarter in Q4 2024. However, unemployment increases are no longer attributable to more people being in the labor market, and our unemployment rate has now exceeded both the New England and U.S. rates for five consecutive quarters.”
“While it would be an overstatement to attribute the weakening of Rhode Island’s economy in Q1 solely to rising policy uncertainties—including unprecedented shifts in international trade and heightened volatility in both national and global markets—the evolving national policy landscape will continue to put pressure on the economies of both Rhode Island and the broader New England region” remarked Edinaldo Tebaldi, Professor of Economics and VP of Strategy at Bryant.
Rhode Island-based employment (seasonally adjusted) experienced gains in five of nine major industry sectors in Q1 2025. Leisure and hospitality experienced the highest levels of nominal jobs growth for Q1 (500 jobs), followed by manufacturing (400) and trade, transportation and utilities (400). Professional and business services, government, and information services experienced job losses, while construction employment was flat.
The Briefing is available here. The data set used to create the Briefing is available here.