Rhode Island’s unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent in September, down from 5.7 percent in August and 7.2 percent a year earlier, according to new numbers from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.
The drop came as the national unemployment rate held steady at 5.1 percent.
Seasonally adjusted figures showed that 1,300 fewer Rhode Island residents were actively seeking work in September, compared with August. The number is down by more than 9,000 since this time a year ago.
But the number of jobs based in Rhode Island has also dropped. The report found nearly 2,000 fewer jobs in September than in August. The construction industry and the health care industry have each lost more than 1,000 jobs over the past year.