PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island ended 2015 with 8,400 more jobs than in December 2014, the highest yearly job gains since 2000, according to data released Thursday by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

Also, the state's unemployment rate of 5.1 percent for December is 1.7 percentage points lower than at the end of 2014.

"We are going in the right direction," DLT Director Scott Jensen said. "Obviously, the 5.1 percent is terrific, and we're getting closer to a really important emotional threshold of 5.0."

Jensen was referring not only to the national unemployment rate — 5.0 percent for December — but also the fact Rhode Island's unemployment rate has been higher than the nation's since July 2005.

However, despite yearly job growth for the last six years, Rhode Island still hasn't regained the net number of jobs lost during the Great Recession, which wiped out 39,800 jobs here from December 2006 to August 2009. Rhode Island has recovered 80 percent.

Governor Raimondo released a statement saying the economy's "on better footing" than a year ago.

"But make no mistake: we have a lot more work to do," she said. "We have some momentum, but we have much more to do in order to put people back to work, jumpstart our economy, and ensure that everyone can make it in Rhode Island."

Furthermore, the monthly jobs report revealed some troubling indicators, University of Rhode Island economics professor Leonard Lardaro said. The number of unemployed residents dropped from November to December by 400 people; employed residents dropped by 400 people; and the labor force dropped by 800 people.

"We're back to the unemployment rate coming down for the wrong reasons" — people dropping out of the labor force, Lardaro said. "The unemployment rate came very close to the national average. I don't celebrate that. I don't think it shows any kind of strength. ... It's been coming down as the labor force shrinks. ... And that's not a sign of strength."

Since December 2006, the state's labor force is down 19,755 people, to 554,900 in December. The labor force counts people working in Rhode Island and those counted as unemployed. Now, the percentage of people in the labor force actually working is lower than during the state's peak employment period. For that reason, Lardaro said comparing the current unemployment rate with the rate when higher percentages of the labor force were working is like comparing apples to oranges.

The monthly jobs report also shows construction jobs grew by 1,000, to 16,500 workers in one of the hardest-hit industries of the Great Recession. That's nearly all the reported 1,110 net gain in jobs.

However, DLT researchers question the accuracy of that reported growth because December was so much warmer than typical.

Each month, the jobs data is seasonally adjusted. Both nationally and in Rhode Island, the non-adjusted numbers dropped, but by less than the five-year average for the industry, DLT principal researcher Joseph Bianco said. Therefore, calculations to produce seasonally adjusted figures likely show better construction numbers than reality.

Jensen said he's cautious to suggest "this is sparking a sprint of a lot of job growth in construction."

In Massachusetts, the unemployment rate remained at 4.7 percent for December. By year's end, Massachusetts had added 73,800 jobs — preliminary estimates that also indicate the strongest yearly gains since 2000 for that state, Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald L. Walker II said in a statement.

kbramson@providencejournal.com

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