The goal of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was to create jobs throughout the country. So how has it fared as far as creating jobs in Rhode Island?

Not good, according to an article by The Providence Journal. It seems as though most of the $155 million Rhode Island received has been used to close the state’s budget deficit, not for creating jobs.

Since President Barack Obama signed the stimulus bill in February, the unemployment rate in Rhode Island has continued to increase. During June, the state saw its unemployment rate increase from 11.1 percent to 12.1 percent. It was at 10.5 percent when the stimulus was passed. During that time, more than 9,000 people have lost their jobs, making total jobless numbers reach about 68,456.

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One well-known investment company is helping to create finance jobs in Rhode Island.

Fidelity Investments has announced its plan to move 500 jobs from other locations to the company’s Smithfield location. The company currently employs about 2,300 workers in Smithfield. The new jobs are expected to pay from $50,000 to $60,000 per year.

The Smithfield operation handles a variety of tasks for the company, including direct investment, the company’s online retail brokerage operation and the company’s retirement-savings operation, which includes administering 401(k), 403(b) and other employer-sponsored retirement-savings plans.

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Rhode Island green jobs are growing faster than others throughout the state.

The Pew Charitable Trusts recently released The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America, a study that found jobs in Rhode Island’s renewable-energy industry grew at a slightly higher rate than overall jobs from 1998 to 2007. The study found that jobs in the clean-energy sector increased by .7 percent during the 10-year period, compared to .6 percent for all jobs.

Even though the state saw faster growth in the green jobs industry, it was behind the national rate. Throughout the country, green-collar jobs increased by 9.1 percent to 770,000 jobs. Total jobs increased by only 3.7 percent throughout the nation.

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Good news is around the corner for those without a job in Rhode Island.

The maximum amount of money that the State of Rhode Island allows people to collect in unemployment benefits each week is about to increase, according to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

It was recently announced that the maximum amount for someone without dependents will increase by $18 per week, or 3.4 percent, from $528 to $546. The maximum amount for someone with five or more dependents will increase by $22 per week, or 3.3 percent, from $660 to $682.

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It could take more than half a decade for Providence jobs to recover to a pre-recession level.

A new report from IHS Global Insight predicts that unemployment in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick area will not return to its pre-recession rate until after 2014. The report also predicts that Rhode Island’s annual rate of job growth will average between .5 percent and 1.1 percent between now and 2014.

Providence is one of 71 metropolitan areas that aren’t expected to return to recent employment peaks until after 2014. Other areas include Cleveland, Detroit and Los Angeles. In comparison, the Boston area is expected to return to its pre-recession employment level by the second quarter of 2014. The analysis is part of a study of 325 of the 363 metropolitan areas throughout the country.

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New Rhode Island engineering jobs, as well as survey and construction jobs, will soon be created with a little help from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The State of Rhode Island recently announced that it will receive more than $2.3 million in federal stimulus money for flood protection projects in Cranston and West Warwick. The money will help create jobs, restore habitats and prevent flooding along the Pawtuxet, Pocasset and Meshanticut rivers.

The Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in the state will receive $1.95 million to purchase easements and conduct restoration at four sites and about $400,000 to design, engineer and obtain permits for the projects.

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The state’s green-collar industry could help create several environmental jobs in R.I.

Andrew Dzykewicz, commissioner of the state Office of Energy Resources, recently said that Rhode Island’s wind-power industry could eventually create between 4,000 and 5,000 jobs, according to an article by The Providence Journal.

“There’s a prospect for a substantial number of jobs coming in that industry,” he said in the article.

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The number of Rhode Island jobs lost during April were among the worst in the country.

Rhode Island, Ohio and West Virginia saw the biggest increases in unemployment during April, according to an article by Bloomberg. Rhode Island had an unemployment rate of 11.1 percent, the highest since 1976, while Ohio’s unemployment rate came in at 10.2 percent, the highest since 1983. West Virginia’s unemployment rate increased by .7 percent to 7.5 percent.

Overall, 18 states and the District of Columbia saw an increase in unemployment, while 21 states saw a decrease. The country as a whole has lost 5.7 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, the biggest job loss since the Great Depression.

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One Rhode Island department is recruiting and training people interested in future RI social work jobs.

The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families is currently seeking candidates for its Pre-Service Training Academy, which prepares those interested in employment as juvenile program workers at the Rhode Island Training School for Youth.

Juvenile program workers provide for the custody, supervision and security of youth at the training school. Duties may include assisting in rehabilitation, education and treatment of youth.

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More medical jobs in Rhode Island will be created, as 10 community healthcare centers throughout the state have received $4 million in federal stimulus money.

The 10 community health centers in Rhode Island serve about 112,000 people. According to an article by The Providence Journal, eight of those meet standards to qualify for federal funds. The money will not only be used to serve poor and uninsured Rhode Island residents, but also to bring healthcare to those who might not have had access to it before.

“Here, care is coordinated,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said in the article. “Here, patients have electronic medical records … They’re actually showing a model for how some of America’s most well-off might be better served.”

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