WHAT: Rhode Island’s Current Conditions Index remained in expansion territory for its ninth consecutive month with a CCI value of 92 for December, says University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro. According to Lardaro, the CCI saw 11 of 12 economic indicators improve relative to their position a year ago. Retail Sales, Total Manufacturing Hours and Total Manufacturing Wage were among those indicators showing strong performance, with U.S. Consumer Sentiment the only indicator to show deteriorating values.

Lardaro remains confident that the economy will continue to move forward, albeit unevenly, and notes that many areas of Rhode Island’s economy have come back strongly. He did caution, however, that revised labor market data may impact a number of CCI values.

WHO: URI Professor of Economics Leonard Lardaro, creator and author of the Current Conditions Index.

WHEN: February 17, 2022. (No embargo)

HOW: Use attached information, including summary and charts prepared by Lardaro for news reports. He is available for broadcast and print interviews. Lardaro will be blogging about the new labor data during the coming weeks. Additional information and historical data available online: http://www.llardaro.com/current.htm.

FOR INFORMATION: Leonard Lardaro, office, 401-874-4128, home, 401-783-9563.

Dawn Bergantino, URI Department of Communications and Marketing, 401-874-4147.

BACKGROUND: The Current Conditions Index, created by Lardaro, measures the strength of the present economic climate in Rhode Island by following the behavior of 12 indicators.