Published on Tuesday, January 06, 2026
CRANSTON, R.I. – Jobs at Rhode Island businesses rose by 200 in November as the state’s November unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point from September 2025 to 4.3 percent. Over the year, jobs were down 500 from November 2024, and the unemployment rate was down two-tenths of a percentage point. Due to the Federal Government shutdown, no labor force estimates were produced for October 2025.
Rhode Island’s Labor Force
The November unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from the September rate. Last year, the rate was 4.5 percent in November.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in November, up two-tenths of a percentage point from September. The U.S. rate was 4.2 percent in November 2024.
The number of unemployed Rhode Island residents — those residents classified as available for and actively seeking employment — was 25,200, down 1,100 from September. The number of unemployed residents was down 1,600 over the year.
The number of employed Rhode Island residents was 565,800, up 2,200 from September 2025 and up 1,200 over the year.
The Rhode Island labor force totaled 591,000 in November, up 1,200 from September but down 400 from November 2024.
The labor force participation rate was 63.8 percent in November, unchanged from September but down from 64.3 percent in November 2024. Nationally, 62.5 percent of U.S. residents participated in the labor force.
Unemployment Insurance claims* for first-time filers averaged 789 in November, up from 737 in October. Claims were up an average of 82 a week from November 2024.
Rhode Island-based Jobs
The number of total nonfarm jobs in Rhode Island was 513,900 in November, an increase of 200 jobs from the October jobs figure of 513,700. Over the year, total nonfarm jobs are down 500 or -0.1 percent. Nationally, jobs were up 0.6 percent or 933,000 from a year ago. The number of private sector jobs in Rhode Island was up 100 in November and up 200 from November 2024.
November Nonfarm Payroll Notes…
- November job gains were led by the Health Care & Social Assistance and Professional & Technical Services sectors, both adding 300 jobs.
- Offsetting the November job gains was a loss of 300 jobs in the Other Services sector and a loss of 200 jobs in Transportation & Utilities.
- Due to the Federal Government shutdown, October jobs data was just recently made available. In October, the number of nonfarm payroll jobs in Rhode Island fell by 1,000 from September, with the largest losses being reported in the Government (-1,000) and Administrative & Waste Services (-700) sectors. Health Care & Social Assistance posted the largest increase (+800) from September.
- Over the past three months, the Rhode Island economy has lost 400 jobs, or an average loss of over 100 jobs per month.
Manufacturing Hours and Earnings
In November, production workers in the Manufacturing sector earned $26.71 per hour, up sixty-six cents from October and up one dollar from November 2024.
Manufacturing employees worked an average of 42.2 hours per week in November, up one-tenth of an hour over the month and up one and one-tenth hours from a year ago.
*The average number of verified initial claims filed during the week includes the 12th of the month and the previous three weeks. The Department of Labor and Training is scheduled to release the December 2025 labor force figures and job counts at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
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