Providence one of only two big US metro areas still losing jobs
April 13th, 2012 at 5:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Thank goodness for California.
If it weren’t for the Golden State capital of Sacramento, there wouldn’t be a single large metropolitan area in the United States where Providence could say the job market is worse.
Among the country’s 50 biggest metro areas, only two – Sacramento and Providence – reported an overall decrease in employment during the 12 months ended in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week. The Providence metro area includes Rhode Island and part of Bristol County, Mass.
“In Sacramento, the decline was mostly due to continued drops in state and local government employment; private employment was essentially flat over the year,” The Economist’s Ryan Avent reports. “In Providence, by contrast, government employment rose; lingering weakness across the economy seemed to be the issue.”
The Economist posted this chart:
Providence is further from the bottom of the pile when we start the clock in June 2009, the official end of the national recession. The local metro area ranked 44th out of 50 for job growth over the subsequent two and a half years; Sacramento ranked dead last. And when the start is pushed all the way back to December 2007, Providence escapes the bottom 10.
Of course, Rhode Island’s recession started roughly a year before the nation’s. Employment in the Providence metro area peaked in January 2007 at 579,500 jobs; bottomed in August 2009 at 537,000; “peaked” again in July 2011 at 548,800; then started falling again before bottoming at 537,500 last July. The job count was 542,800 in February. Here’s a chart:
So the Providence area lost 42,500 jobs from January 2007 to August 2009 and had gained only 5,800 as of February, more than five years after the peak. Without a sudden surge in growth, it’s hard to see how Providence avoids a lost decade (or worse). And it’s all quite a contrast with nearby Boston, which is No. 7 in job growth since June 2009.
“The good news is that, on current trends, quite a lot of the largest metropolitan areas will be back above pre-recession employment levels within a few months,” Avent concludes. “But a handful of places will bear the scars of this recession for a long time to come.” Unfortunately, Providence is probably one of those places.
• Related: Providence area won’t recover lost jobs for another 6 years (June 20)
Tags: california, charts, employment, job market, jobs, providence, ryan avent, sacramento, the economist, unemployment
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
Hey, let’s keep cutting those taxes on rich people, its done such a bang up job attracting “job creators” to the area.
Make sure everyone thanks your local chamber of commerce person when you see them!
Fish please explain how taxing the rich is going to help at all? You have fallen for Mr. Obama’s bull hook,line and sinker.
Puke Fish you are a moron! Rhode Island has one of the highest tax rates, most generous social services, is the most anti business state in the country. You expect companies that have high paying jobs to establish operations in Rhode Island. If you do you are again a moron. Give up your thoughts that FDR was a messiah. He was a criminal his policies slowed the recovery during the great depression. No economy has ever taxed themselves to prosperity.
Yet another one to add to my very extensive list of why RI is failing under the Democrats. Among the top, #2 in unemployment and #50 for business. Keep it coming guys. I call it the Democrat party report card. What’s lower than an “F”…maybe a “G” as in go home.
The Democrats have been running our General Assembly for over 70 years. They get full credit for where we are. In fact, Democrats outnumber Republicans 9 to 1. In the city of Providence, there isn’t one Republican in elected office!
It is time to restore balance to our Statehouse and elect Republicans in the fall and Rhode Island will be saved.
What were the nature of the lost jobs? Manufacturing, service, public sector, etc?
Also, what is the nature of the 5,800 jobs gained?
Mr. Fish,given that the highest tax rate for the rich was just reduced last year after being high for years, is that the best spin-doctoring you have?
Perhaps you should have written the facts! That RI has amongst the highest taxes in the country. That RI is ranked dead last for business. Perhaps that is why we are #2 for unemployment? Ya think?
Mr. Fish did you know that almost 50% don’t pay any payroll taxes. Yes, the bottom 50%.
Mr. Fish, did you know that many of the high income earners have already left the state, because they can work here but drive just a few minutes over the boarder to Massachusetts to live where the taxes are lower.
Mr. Fish do people really believe what you are selling? You are no doubt a Democrat who uses lies and deceit just like your poster boy David Cicilline.
It is because of people like you and your self-interests RI is getting destroyed. How does someone like you look in the mirror!
We can spin sound bites any way we want, but the truth of these matters is that it’is never one single sound bite policy that creates systemic problems. It’s many seemingly harmless policies that collectively make the neighborhood a private sector jobs slum.
We simply don’t have leaders with private sector job creation as their goal. Nor do we have a constituency who understand that without private sector job growth, the state will slowly dissolve it’s wealth as it is doing today.
If it weren’t for a bunch of MIT professors creating companies up on rt 128, RI would be fiscally dead already. I just hope the price of gas doesn’t go to $5 a gallon forcing all those RI commuters to relocate to Ma.
Ain’t that the truth…and some of us work off 495 too. Certainly not in Providence!
Let’s see…Corrupt Cheif Justices, Corrupt Govenors, Corrupt Mayors, Union people sitting on school committies, Super high taxes – This IS a surprise!!!!