RI unemployment rate rises slightly

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - After two months of slight improvement, Rhode Island's unemployment rate ticked up again in December to 12.9 percent, keeping it among the worst in the nation, the state Department of Labor and Training said Friday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point from 12.7 percent in November after more than 1,100 people were added to the jobless rolls, the department said.

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The national jobless rate held steady in December at 10 percent. However, Massachusetts rates also ticked up to 9.4 percent.

The largest job losses in December came in manufacturing and professional and business services, both of which lost 700 jobs.

Professional and business services include jobs such as landscaping and janitorial companies.

About 500 jobs were lost in the restaurant business, the department said.

Rhode Island's unemployment rate has been in double digits since January 2009. It had the second-worst unemployment rate in the nation in November after Michigan.

State rankings for December have not yet been released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.