Overall unemployment rate moved up to 4.8% with the biggest shift in Restaurants & Hotels, which lost 5,000 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2022.

Total employment in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA market rose by 10,430 jobs in January and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 100 bps to 4.8%. The national unemployment rate increased by 74 bps over the same time to 4.4%.

  • Providence-Warwick, RI-MA unemployment rate is 37 bps above the national rate which is a negative sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 360 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 5.5% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Unemployment January 2022

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -3.0%. Key sectors include:

  • Education & Healthcare: 119,600; -2,400
  • Transportation & Utilities: 101,700; -4,300
  • Government: 74,700; -800
  • Business Services: 73,900; -2,300
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 57,400; -5,000
  • Manufacturing: 49,300; -1,000
  • Financial Services: 37,200; -100
  • Other Jobs: 25,500; -200
  • Construction, Mining: 23,800; -1,800
  • IT & Development: 6,900; no change
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Unemployment by Industry January 2022

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2022 (Data published March 2022 and reports created on March 18, 2022).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.