Some Rhode Island government jobs will soon be filled.

The State of Rhode Island recently announced its plan to fill 92 positions with the state government. The Department of Administration currently has 169 vacancies that were created by several retirements this year, according to an article by The Providence Journal.

The state has seen several departments lose staff members, including the Department of Health, which has since complained it can’t perform critical public health functions. The state’s department that analyzes food, drinking water, wastewater and air for toxic environmental contaminants.

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Declining sales and consumer confidence could result in the loss of more Rhode Island retail jobs.

Rhode Island, among many other states, is feeling the pressure of the declining economy. During October the state had an unemployment rate of 9.3 percent, up from 8.8 percent during September and higher than the national unemployment rate of 6.5 percent. According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state had a total non-farm employment of 476,000, down from 478,400 during September and a 3 percent decrease from last year.

According to an article by Reuters, many retail sales jobs are being lost. It’s sort of a Catch-22, as more people lose their jobs, more people can’t afford to shop, causing more retail workers to lose their jobs, and so on.

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Although employment throughout the state is getting lower every day, office jobs in Rhode Island are being added by the state unemployment office.

The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training recently announced its plan to hire 20 new workers to answer calls from people who have been laid off. Rhode Island currently has an unemployment rate of 9.3 percent and is tied with Michigan as the highest in the country. Because of the high number of unemployed workers, people have been waiting on hold for up to an hour-and-a-half to speak to a claims operator.

The office hopes that adding 20 federally-financed operators will cut down on hold times, according to an article by TMCNews. The office currently employs 30 workers, and the new workers will have to go through training before they can start.

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A new initiative could help save local Rhode Island retail jobs.

Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, Chairwoman of the Small Business Advocacy Council, recently announced the launch of Buy Local RI, a new economic development initiative to help support local businesses. The initial phase of Buy Local RI will be a public awareness campaign encouraging Rhode Island residents to support local businesses by shopping locally, especially for the holidays.

“The economy in Rhode Island is struggling,” Roberts said in a press release. “As we look at our economy turning down, we need to invest our dollars here in Rhode Island. One of the best things we can do is to support local businesses.

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