RIEDC Surpasses Governor Carcieri's Goal of 20,000 New Jobs
July 31, 2007 | Print this page | Share This | Email this page
With the June numbers in from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Governor Donald L. Carcieri has announced that the state has reached his goal of 20,000 new jobs by 2007. In fact, the state surpassed Carcieri's goal by 100 jobs, with 20,100 new jobs, thanks to a record-high job count in June of 499,100 non-farm jobs.
"This is quite an accomplishment that all Rhode Islanders should be proud of," says Saul Kaplan, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. "We are well positioned to continue the momentum in creating a 21st century innovation economy that produces higher wage jobs at every wage level for all Rhode Islanders."
The number of jobs in Rhode Island is up 800 jobs over the month of June, up 3,200 jobs since the beginning of 2007, and up 5,400 jobs since June 2006. When Carcieri took office in January 2003, he set a goal for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation to add 20,000 new jobs to the state's economy.
"I set an ambitious goal when I became governor of creating 20,000 new jobs in our state," says Governor Donald L. Carcieri. "While job numbers go up and down from month to month, Rhode Islanders should be pleased that our overall employment trend has continued to be very positive."
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent in June from 4.8 percent in May. The Department of Labor and Training also reported that the number of employed Rhode Islanders increased in June to 552,100, 200 more than in May and 3,700 more than in June 2006.
