WHAT: Rhode Island’s Current Conditions Index for February remained unchanged from its January value of 75, says University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro. According to Lardaro, most of the CCI indicators, including Total Manufacturing Hours, Manufacturing Wage and New Claims (for unemployment) showed healthy movement; however, he noted three important indicators Single-Use Permits, Employment Service Jobs and U.S. Consumer Sentiment have shown declines. While he indicates that Rhode Island’s recovery from the pandemic has been more rapid and strong than originally anticipated, given the CCI is predicated on year-over-year changes, he expects the coming months to begin to show a truer picture of the state’s economic momentum with stronger “comps” against which to compare.

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

WHEN: April 18, 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.