Though Rhode Island's unemployment rate dropped slightly in October, the state still has the third-highest unemployment in the nation, according to a report released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Ocean State's unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 12.9 percent last month, according to the report.
Rhode Island's unemployment rate has not posted a decrease since January 2007, according to statistics from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.
From October 2008 to October 2009, unemployment rose by 3.6 percentage points nationally to 10.2 percent, the bureau reported. Over that period, Rhode Island's unemployment rate increased by 4.1 percentage points and the state lost 20,410 jobs.
A total of 13 states experienced unemployment rate decreases last month, while 29 states and Washington, D.C. saw unemployment increases, according to the bureau. Rates were unchanged in eight states.
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