RI unemployment rise worst in nation

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - A dubious distinction for Rhode Island was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The smallest state in the union had the biggest increase in unemployment in 2008. (For the complete report, click here.)

Rhode Island's jobless rate rose by 2.6 percentage points, beating out Florida at 2.1 percent and Nevada at 2.0 percent. The average unemployment increase nationwide for 2008 was 1.2 percent, less than half the increase in Rhode Island.

Compared to its neighbors, Rhode Island's 2008 numbers prove to be even more dismal. With an increase of 1.1 percent, Connecticut had the second-highest spike of the New England states. Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts all had an increase of .8 percent.

The average increase for the Northeast was 1.0 percent.

As for overall unemployment numbers for 2008, Rhode Island came in second at 7.8 percent; surpassed only by Michigan, which had an 8.4 percent unemployment rate for last year. The average U.S. jobless rate for 2008 was 5.8 percent.

By the end of December, the Rhode Island's unemployment reached 9.4 percent. It has since climbed to 10.3 percent, the highest rate in more than 30 years.