RI unemployment rate drops to 11.5%

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Rhode Island's unemployment rate dropped for the seventh straight month in September to 11.5 percent, according to the latest survey by the Department of Labor and Training.

It was a decrease of 3/10 of a percentage point from August , and the lowest unemployment rate since July 2009.

However, Rhode Island's unemployment rate remained well above the national average of 9.6 percent.

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The Department of Labor and Training said there were 1,600 fewer unemployed residents in September, bringing the total number of the state's unemployed to 65,900. It was the eighth consecutive month that the number of unemployed Rhode Islanders dropped.

The number of employed Rhode Islanders went up by 600 in September, bringing the state's total labor force to 571,000.

Rhode Island lost 1,000 jobs from August,, according to the Department of Labor and Training. All of the job losses were in the private sector. Accommodation and food services, along with construction, shed the most positions.

Government saw the biggest job growth, adding 500 positions.