Some driver jobs in Rhode Island are being cut.

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s board of directors recently approved a move to cut 20 drivers’ jobs and reduce service on 47 bus routes. This is expected to save about $900,000 this fiscal year and $2 million next fiscal year. Officials said service reductions will mostly affect routes with low ridership. RIPTA employs 844 workers and maintains two facilities, one in Newport and one in Providence.

According to an article by WPRI, the agency will still have a deficit of about $8 million even after the savings, meaning more job cuts are likely in the near future. However, Board Chairman John Rupp and other officials are optimistic the state will provide enough money to get RIPTA through the end of this fiscal year, which will end June 30, 2009, without further job cuts.

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A well-known insurance provider has cut insurance jobs in Rhode Island.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island recently announced its plan to cut 74 positions throughout the company, 41 through layoffs and the remainder by not filling vacancies. The positions to be cut include everything from management personnel to rank-and-file employees. According to an article by the Providence Business News, the company currently employs about 1,160 workers.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield is the state’s largest health insurer and covers more than 680,000 people. One reason for the cuts may be that healthcare network Care New England has decided to switch its employee healthccare coverage to Tufts Health Plan, a rival of Blue Cross.

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The State of Rhode Island currently has the highest unemployment rate in the country, and the loss of Rhode Island manufacturing jobs is only adding to what some are calling a “blue-collar” recession.

During September 2008, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state had an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent. Total non-farm employment came in at 478,200 workers, down from 479,500 during August and a decrease of 2.6 percent from last year. The manufacturing industry employed 47,400 workers, down from 47,600 during August and a decrease of 6.5 percent from last year.

Job losses in other blue-collar industries, such as office and construction jobs, also are adding to the problem. During September, Rhode Island’s construction industry employed 20,800 workers, down from 21,000 during August and a decrease of 3.3 percent from last year. The state’s professional and business services industry employed 53,800 during September, down from 53,900 during August and a decrease of 2.2 percent from last year.

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Those who currently have or are seeking IT jobs in Rhode Island are among the most lucky in the state.

Rhode Island’s information industry was the only one to see an over-the-year increase in jobs during September, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry employed 10,800 workers during September, down from 10,900 in August, but an increase of 3.8 percent from last year.

The state saw a total non-farm employment of 478,200 workers during September, down from 479,500 during August and a decrease of 2.6 percent from last year. The industry that took the hardest hit was natural resources and mining, which employed 200 workers, the same as August, but a 33.3 percent decrease from last year.

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One company’s expansion will help create new biotech jobs in Rhode Island.

Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of sight-saving therapeutics for chronic retinal diseases, recently announced the opening of a new 27,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

“High tech manufacturing in the biotechnology industry is a critical component of our economic development and job growth strategy,” Governor Donald L. Carcieri said in a press release. “I commend Neurotech for their commitment to expand operations and create new job opportunities here in Rhode Island, and am pleased to join the company in this exciting celebration today.” Read the rest of this entry »

The relocation of a company could create new office jobs in Rhode Island.

United Natural Foods Inc. recently announced its plans to move its headquarters from Dayville, Connecticut to Providence, Rhode Island in May 2009. The company plans to combine executive and administrative offices by relocating about 150 employees, and will maintain its presence in Connecticut, where its distribution facility is the third-largest on the East Coast and the sixth-largest in the country.

UNFI carries and distributes more than 60,000 products to more than 17,000 customers throughout America. The company serves many retail formats, including conventional supermarket chains, natural product superstores, independent retail operators and the food service channel.

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Rhode Island jobs are turning green.

Organizations across the country recently held more than 650 events as part of the National Day of Action, stressing the importance of creating green jobs, according to an article by the Providence Journal. Rhode Island held an event at the New England Institute of Technology focused on solar energy, educating young workers on green technology and policy initiatives.

“We want to educate people and get people thinking and talking to each other and start working together toward the greening of Rhode Island’s economy,” Greg Gerritt, founder of the Rhode Island Prosperity Project, said in the article. “People need workers. They need educated workers. We have to think about the big picture.” Read the rest of this entry »

More Rhode Island jobs are being lost, and the state is facing one of its highest unemployment rates ever.

During August, Rhode Island saw an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent, up from 7.8 percent in July and higher than the national unemployment rate of 6.1 percent. This is the state’s highest unemployment rate in 15 years, according to an article by the Associated Press. In August 2007, Rhode Island had an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent.

The number of unemployed people looking for a job increased to 48,800 during August, up 4,300 since July. The state lost 1,200 jobs from July to August, the eighth month in a row the state has lost jobs. It is expected the current crisis on Wall Street will only hinder the state, which has been in a recession for about a year.

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A Rhode Island retail job may be the way to go for those looking for a promising career.

Rhode Island employment overall is expected to increase by more than 55,000 jobs through 2014, when the total number of jobs should reach 573,437, an increase of 10.7 percent, or 55,292 jobs, from the 518,145 workers employed in 2004.

The retail trade industry currently employs about 53,000 workers, or about 10 percent of the state’s workforce, according to an article by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. The Retail Trade industry is projected to grow by 10 percent, adding more than 5,200 jobs through 2014.
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Throughout the past seven months many Rhode Island jobs have been lost.

During July, the State of Rhode Island employed 480,600 workers, a 1,700, or 2.6 percent, job decrease from June’s employment of 482,300, according to an article by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. This is the seventh month in a row the state has lost jobs. Rhode Island’s unemployment rate rose to 7.7 percent, the state’s highest since September 1993.

The number of unemployed residents who were actively seeking employment increased to 44,300, up from 15,300 last year. The number of employed residents was at 528,900, down 600 from June and down 18,200 from last year.

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