Worst joblessness in nation staggers R.I.

[unhappycamper]

Worst joblessness in nation staggers R.I.
By Eric Moskowitz
Globe Staff / October 22, 2008

PROVIDENCE - Even more than the gleaming new condos or the boom of restaurants and stores in the heart of this old mill city, the regular WaterFire festivities are held up as a signature of the rise from industrial decay, drawing jubilant crowds and their money. But as thousands thronged the bonfire spectacle this month, some noticed a troubling, if subtle, absence: shoppers.

"We were slammed with people, but nobody had any bags in their hands," said Eli Fernandez, who works at a cellphone kiosk in Providence Place, a vast mall that opened in 1999 as a centerpiece of Providence's renewed prosperity.

There are other clues of something amiss. In residential neighborhoods around the city, a litter of "For Sale" signs. In nearby West Warwick, a young waitress pawns jewelry to make ends meet because tips are declining. To the south, in the mill village of Peace Dale, a food pantry for the needy sees a near quadrupling in the number of families enrolled in its emergency meals program - from 261 enrolled a year ago to 905 now. "Every day there's new people," said Susan Gustaitis, executive director of the Jonnycake Center. "It's not slowing down."

Rhode Island, just a few years ago celebrated for job and productivity growth, is suddenly reeling - with some indicators showing the worst economic climate in 17 years. According to figures released yesterday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment ballooned in September to 8.8 percent, the highest rate in the nation, and the state's annual job-loss rate was un equaled. Even Providence, the capital city that has drawn national headlines over the past decade for its downtown renaissance, is looking at a housing collapse and retail contraction.

"It's real bad, man," said Joel Diaz, who works at the Providence Place phone kiosk with Fernandez and who knows several people who have lost jobs, faced foreclosure, or both. "Some are just going crazy now because of it."

[annabanana]

1. Oh dear...

I just never think of the New England states as being as hard hit as everywhere else in the country. It must be all the "east coast elitism" talk that we get pounded with on Corpomedia...

[chemp]

2. Sucks

I have to commute 45 miles OUT of the biggest little and down to the cape to get to work everyday 'cause I can't find a decent job on RI.

[AllieB]

3. Did you read the freeper troll comments on the article?

Ugh. The Globe is littered with RW freaks commenting on articles.

[KG]

4. a prosperity built on east credit, not real jobs. a chimaera

anybody with an actual grip on reality could see the fall coming...