The Rhode Island unemployment rate dipped for the fifth straight month to 11.9%, according to the R.I. Department of Labor.

It dropped a tenth of a percentage point. The fifth consecutive monthly decline came as the private sector added 1,500 jobs in July, an improvement that was partially offset by the loss of 900 government jobs last month, the DLT said.

The state’s non-farm payrolls rose to 451,800 in July.

Rhode Island’s largest job gains in June came in the accommodation and food service sector, which picked up 900 jobs as seasonal hiring continued into July, the DLT said.

Manufacturing jobs increased by 600 last month because of fewer seasonal layoffs than normal, according to the DLT. Retail trade also added 600 positions due in part of the reopening of businesses hit by the March floods, labor officials said.

Gains were also reported in arts, entertainment and recreation, and “other services,” which each grew by 400 jobs. Health care and social assistance, and educational services each added 100 positions, while transportation and utilities, information and natural resources, and mining sectors remained unchanged.

At the same time, however, the number of unemployed residents – those classified as available for work and actively seeking employment – sank for the sixth consecutive month, declining by 1,000 to 68,300.

Last month, Rhode Island’s jobless rate was the fourth-highest in nation. Between December and FEbruary, the rate had reached 12.7%. Since then, it has dropped for five straight months in a row.

The United States unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.5%. Rhode Island’s neighbor Massachusetts’ unemployment rate also remained unchanged and held steady at 9%, lower than the national average.

Good news for unemployed writers everywhere: AOL’s Patch is hiring in many states, including for journalist jobs in Rhode Island.

AOL Inc. announced today the launch of Patch’s 100th site, Morristown Patch (http://morristown.patch.com). AOL also announced that Patch plans to rapidly expand to more than 500 U.S. neighborhoods in 20 states by the end of 2010. Additionally, with over 500 journalists still to be hired, Patch expects to be the largest hirer of full-time journalists in the U.S. this year.

“Today’s launch of our 100th site is a significant milestone for us. We began with just three Patch communities in February 2009, and have since made incredible progress toward fulfilling our core mission of providing comprehensive information and trusted, professional news coverage to towns and communities,” said Warren Webster, President, Patch Media. “We believe Patch is a revolutionary and efficient approach to producing relevant, quality local journalism at scale, and we couldn’t be more excited about expanding into hundreds of new communities across America this year.”

Every Patch site is run by one professional local editor who, along with freelancers, provides quality original news and information to its community. As part of its expansion, Patch continues to hire experienced professional journalists to fill important new roles in the organization.

In addition to being a destination for original content produced by professional journalists, Patch is a platform for community members to comment on stories, share their opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar.

Patch sites are already up and running in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia. The 2010 expansion includes plans to extend Patch’s reach into more than a dozen new states including Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.

Recent Patch hires

Patch has completed its hiring of senior editorial field management with four regionally based Editorial Directors. They report to Brian Farnham, Patch’s Editor-in-Chief.

– Marcia Parker (San Ramon, California), Editorial Director of the West Coast Region, joins Patch from the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, where she served as Assistant Dean for six years. She is the founding Editor-in-Chief, of Tri Valley Magazine, former Director of Programming at AOL Small Business, and has worked at Crain’s New York Business, United Press International and the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Leading Women has created a multi-rater assessment for all individuals applying for jobs in Rhode Island.

Formerly offered only to participants in Leading Women leadership training programs, the Leading Women Leadership Assessment is described by a Fortune 500 chief executive officer as “the most comprehensive assessment available.”

“Leadership is a set of skills that, like all skills, can be developed,” said Susan Colantuono, founder and chief executive officer of Leading Women. ”With this crucial assessment, leaders can pinpoint and enhance strengths while identifying and overcoming weaknesses.”  

The Leading Women Leadership Assessment is the only evaluation that provides feedback balanced among three primary leadership responsibilities: leading for outcomes, engaging and aligning others, and personal excellence. Feedback from the assessment ensures that leaders are viewed as possessing the full complement of “corner office” skills – or learn areas for improvement.

The assessment features sixty-three items in nine categories of leadership competence and performance. Based on decades of research, it covers areas where women are repeatedly rated as underperforming men. Suitable for both men and women, the Leading Women assessment is the first to provide the data women need to position themselves for the executive suite.

The assessment includes:

    •     a printable, portable report
    •     a copy of No Ceiling, No Walls for action planning
    •     a 1-hour coaching session to debrief the results and develop an action plan
    •     a 1-hour follow-up on progress.

For Leading Women Gold Members, the assessment is $495. For non-members, the cost is $635. Team and group pricing is available.

38 Studios, Curt Schillings’ online game company, has announced they are moving from Maynard, Massachusetts, a move that will create new video game developer jobs in Rhode Island.

 The studio has agreed to sign a $75 million loan guarantee for the move.

 Rhode Island is attempting to make itself an attractive area for video game developers to set up shop, and this move demonstrates their initiative.

The Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. approved the loan.

Schilling told the Boston Globe: “I’ve invested a significant amount of my life’s earnings in 38 Studios and I will protect the loan guarantee that’s been given by the state with the same passion and interest that I’m protecting my own investment in this company. Our paths are very much aligned.”

But 38 Studios has yet to even release a game, and some opponents of the loan say that tax payers will be left with the bill if the company is not a success.

Politicians have said the amount is an extraordinary amount of money without any guarantees. Rhode Island’s governor thinks it was a risk worth taking.

 According to Gamasutra, if successful, the company could attract 450 jobs to Rhode Island by the end of 2012, the studio said. 38 Studios also said it would pay a penalty if it comes up short.

The company’s first game will be the recently-revealed single-player console and PC RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, due in fall 2011. The game was already in development when 38 Studios acquired Maryland-based developer Big Huge Games in May 2009.

According to their website, 38 Studios is an entertainment and IP creation company in development on a broad range of products, including online and console video games, toys, novels, comics, film, TV, and other forms of digital media.

Founded by Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling in late 2006, 38 Studios has assembled a team of world-class creative talent to bring to life an epic new intellectual property to redefine conventional multi-player gaming as it exists today, and nothing less. Furthering that goal in May 2009, 38 Studios acquired Big Huge Games and its body of extremely talented people and award-winning products and IP, ensuring the growth, market position, financial stability, and long-term success of 38 Studios.

38 Studios’ first original products will feature the artistic vision of world-renowned comic book and toy creator Todd McFarlane (www.spawn.com) and best-selling fantasy author R. A. Salvatore (www.rasalvatore.com). To bring this epic world to life, 38 Studios employs skilled and dedicated artists, programmers, designers, writers, and others drawn from the world’s most successful companies, all of whom join 38 Studios with the common goal of creating a most unique company by combining the ages-old art of the story with 21st century interactive entertainment.
 

Author and corporate financial management expert Domenic Sgambellone is offering some sound office about creating jobs in Rhode Island.

Unemployment, illegal immigration, budget deficits, and economic trends continue to dominate the daily news with a variety of opinions. One such informative and frank voice is Sgambellone (pronounced skam-bell-own-ee), a corporate financial management expert by trade, and the author of a bold but practical new book titled *”The America of My Dreams: A Political Manifesto.

Besides the recognition that he received for his pioneer style contributions to the business community, Domenic is now a hit after his recent national radio and TV media tour for his common sense, yet insightful approach to solving problems plaguing the Unites States of America.

In “The America of My Dreams: A Political Manifesto,” Domenic explains the necessity for change in US policies for major issues such as immigration, election reform, US Congress term reform, and social security reform.

As a man who was instrumental to the corporate giant, Ferrero, when the company first opened its doors in the USA, Domenic is highly experienced in corporate business.

It was Domenic who established the concept of “self-insurance” to the construction business in Rhode Island forever changing the way the industry operated in the state.

Domenic was once again on the cutting edge when he introduced a fifty page safety manual to the construction business in Rhode Island setting new standards for the industry.

“I immigrated to the United Sates in 1963,” stated Domenic. “I saw the US as the land of opportunity and I worked hard during the daytime for many years while attending college at night.”

“It was, in fact, the land of opportunity for me. I was able to obtain an MBA in Finance from Seton Hall University and go on to a successful career in finance and corporate management ever since.”

“I love the USA and it has been very good to me, but I have seen many things deteriorate over the last couple of decades. That’s why I am now exercising my right and duty to speak out about making some positive changes in American policies.”

A new study shows that Rhode Island jobs were added during the month of May.

Online advertised vacancies inched up by 19,600 in June to 4,154,000 following a small decline in May, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series released today.  The gap between the number of unemployed and advertised vacancies (supply/demand rate) stood at 3.62 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in May (the last available unemployment data) but is down from 4.73 in October 2009.  

“In the last two months, labor demand has been little changed following a strong start for Spring hiring in April,” said June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board. “Thus far, job demand has been uneven across geographies and occupations, and weakness in the housing market is one factor. While all states have experienced some positive upturn in labor demand, states that were heavily impacted by the housing market downturn, in general, are rebounding more slowly. Also, occupations that are most closely associated with real estate—construction, architecture and engineering, and legal—have been slower to advertise for additional workers while the labor demand in other occupations such as sales, entertainment, food preparation, and healthcare and personal care have already risen to pre-recession levels.”

REGIONAL AND STATE HIGHLIGHTS

• June job demand strong in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in the Northeast and North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia in the South

In the Northeast region, online advertised vacancies in June were up 50,600, showing strength in several of the large states. Among the large States that have shown gains in recent months, New York was up 23,800 in June to its highest level since March 2008.  Pennsylvania gained for the fourth straight month, up 15,000 in June, and reached its highest level since October 2008.  New Jersey increased by 11,700 and reached its highest level since March 2008.  Massachusetts decreased by a slim 2,000.  Among the smaller States, June job demand in New Hampshire was up by 1,700, Rhode Island gained 700, Vermont rose 600, and Connecticut dropped 3,300 while Maine was down 1,200.

In June, labor demand in the West dropped by 51,600, reflecting in large part a decline of 46,800 in California, the most populous State in the region.  Arizona and Colorado experienced drops of 5,200 and 2,900 respectively. Washington State gained 2,100.  Among the smaller States, Oregon gained 1,100, New Mexico increased by 800, and Nevada inched up 700 while Alaska dropped 1,600 and Hawaii fell 1,300.

The Midwest declined this month by 21,300.  Illinois experienced the largest drop in the region (9,800).  Missouri was down 6,600, Minnesota fell 6,200, and Michigan declined by 2,200.  Wisconsin and Ohio continued to gain momentum and rose 8,400 and 5,500, respectively.  Among the States with smaller populations, Indiana decreased 1,800 while North Dakota was up 1,700.

The South rose in June by 49,200, reflecting significant gains by some States and lessening declines in the others.  Texas led the way with a gain of 25,800 (most in the country), North Carolina rose 12,200 in June to 110,900, and Virginia rose 10,400 to 178,500.  Among the most populous States with declines in June, Georgia and Maryland decreased 2,800 and 4,300, respectively, while Florida remained unchanged. Among the less populous states in the South, advertised vacancies in Oklahoma increased by 1,900 in June while Louisiana decreased by 800 and Kentucky decreased by 200.

The Supply/Demand rate for the U.S. in May (the latest month for which unemployment numbers are available) was at 3.62, indicating that there just under 4 unemployed workers for every online advertised vacancy.  Nationally there are just over 10 million more unemployed workers than advertised vacancies.  States with some of the lowest rates include North Dakota (1.24), South Dakota (1.51), Alaska (1.53), and Nebraska (1.57), where the Supply/Demand rates reflected the fact that there was just over one unemployed for every online advertised vacancy. Among the States, the highest Supply/Demand rates are in Mississippi (7.63) and Michigan (7.22), where there are over 7 unemployed people for every advertised vacancy.  Although still among the highest in the Nation, Michigan’s S/D rate has improved significantly from the 10.2 in July 2009 when there were just over 10 unemployed for every online advertised vacancy.  Other states where there are over 5 unemployed for every advertised vacancy are Kentucky (5.38), Indiana (5.22), and Florida (5.08).

It should be noted that the Supply/Demand rate only provides a measure of relative tightness of the individual state labor markets and does not suggest that the occupations of the unemployed directly align with the occupations of the advertised vacancies.

Jobs Now RI, an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program, has been enacted with encouraging results due to the creation of many new jobs in Rhode Island.

Jobs Now Rhode Island is a jobs creation program that will, for a limited time, reimburse business 100 percent of wages for qualifying hires. The program was created in an attemp to spur on the creation of new jobs.

The program is effective through 2010 and has seen positive results so far. Both Capco Steel and Edesia, a startup company in Rhode Island, have applied and received workers through the act.

Jobs Now Rhode Island is ideal for businesses preparing to expand their workforce, because it gives employers the opportunity to evaluate and train workers before committing to long-term hires. Companies that retain the Jobs Now workers beyond the duration of the program may qualify for additional tax credits. Jobs Now Rhode Island is also well suited for businesses desiring temporary and/or seasonal help.

Jobs Now Rhode Island hiring cannot be used to reinstate or replace recently laid-off workers.

1. All individuals hired under Jobs Now Rhode Island shall be hired as regular members of the Employer’s work force and are subject to the same conditions of employment as the Employer’s other regular employees, including periodic wage increases for performance or termination for unsatisfactory performance. Other conditions of employment include the following:
2. The Employee is on the Employer’s regular payroll.
3. The Employee receives the same benefits as the employees on the Employer’s regular payroll performing similar work.
4. The Employee receives the same starting wage and other wage increases as other employees performing similar work.
5. If Employee is performing work not being performed by other employees, Employer will pay a starting wage consistent with the local labor market.
6. The Employee is provided special clothing or equipment if such is provided to the Employer’s regular employees performing similar work.
7. The Employee is provided supervision and training in the occupation for which the individual is hired in order to obtain transferable skills.

Jobs Now Rhode Island can connect eligible Rhode Islanders with full-time, available employment in their field of expertise. While these jobs are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through September 2010, many employers may choose to retain their Jobs Now employees as longer-term hires.

Eligible job seekers must be Rhode Island residents who earn an income at or below 225 percent of the federal poverty level.

A $10 million federally job program that was intended to boost the Providence economy has not created any Rhode Island jobs to date (click here).

The program was unveiled three months ago by Providence Mayor David Cicilline.

Jobs Now is reportedly still under review by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.

The program aims to produce 500 jobs in Providence.

Officials say they will pressure Washington to speed up the approval process.

When the program was unveiled three months ago, they were told though the program was temporary, the goal was to give residents the experience and skills needed to continue working in this economy.

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is projected to save thousands of jobs in Rhode Island (click here).

The Act has been responsible for creating or saving 11,000 jobs in Rhode Island since its signing in February 2009, the Obama administration said Friday.

 According to PBN.com, that would be 2.4 percent of the 452,500 non-farm payroll jobs in Rhode Island as of last month.

Rhode Island has lost 44,000 jobs since employment here peaked in January 2007, so by the White House’s estimate the stimulus has kept Rhode Island’s employment losses 20 percent below what the total would have been without it.

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Clariant Corp., a pigment plant, has announced that they are relocating sales and technical jobs in Rhode Island to its North American headquarters in Charlotte by the end of the third quarter.

According to PlasticsNews.com, Coventry was a pigments plant until it was shut at the end of 2008. Remaining staff there supported Clairant’s pigments and additives businesses.

 About 30 jobs in Rhode Island are affected. Coventry workers will be offered transfers to Charlotte. In total, about 50 now work in Coventry.

“We concluded that consolidating these activities in Charlotte alongside comparable positions that support our businesses in North America will allow us to achieve significant efficiency and cost synergies while reducing our region’s structural complexity,” noted Kenneth Golder, head of Clariant’s North American region, in a news release.

“North Carolina offers a favorable business environment that is taking an increasingly progressive approach on matters ranging from workforce development and taxes to transportation and energy,” Golder elaborated in a separate news release..

Clariant will invest about $2.5 million in Charlotte as a result of the move. The new jobs there will carry an average annual wage of $85,796, 76 percent higher than the regional average. The move was partly aided by a $55,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.

Clariant Corp. has a plastics related operation in North Carolina. In Mooresville it runs a masterbatch plant it acquired as part of its purchase of Rite Sysems Inc. and Ricon Colors Inc. in 2008.

Coventry’s pigment production was relocated to Germany and Mexico. The site is undergoing decommissioning and environmental cleanup so that it may be redeveloped. Part of it has been sold to International Process Plants of Hamilton, N.J. Clariant acquired the Coventry operation from American Hoechst in 1997.