RI jobless 3rd-highest in U.S.
BOSTON – Rhode Island had the third-highest jobless rate, at 10.9 percent, in the nation in May.
In contrast, New Hampshire reported the third-lowest jobless rate, at 4.8 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Vermont, at 5.4 percent, Massachusetts, at 7.6 percent, and Maine, at 7.7 percent, also recorded notably lower-than-average jobless rates.
Rhode Island was among five states that had unemployment rates “significantly higher” than the national average, at 9.1 percent; Connecticut mirrored the national trend.
The New England unemployment rate remained at 7.9 percent in May, unchanged from a month earlier. The area’s over-the-year change was “not statistically significant,” said BLS Regional Commissioner Denis M. McSweeney.
Of

