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Rhode Island jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is 3.6%. 720 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 7 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

Independent page. Not from or affiliated with the State of Rhode Island.

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Rhode Island economy

  • 3.6%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    4.3% the month before

  • 577,034

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 1,095,371

    people in Rhode Island

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $86,372

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 44%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Rhode Island outlook: Building

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs up 4.1% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 1.6% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 2.9%, down 0.9 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+7,218 jobs), transportation & warehousing (+3,389 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: management of companies (−1,376 jobs), admin & staffing (−1,073 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in Rhode Island. Each link goes to the publisher.

Learn and get funded in Rhode Island

Rhode Island layoffs

  • 7

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 10,726

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 7

    employers

Layoff notices filed in Rhode Island, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
EndeavorsTakes effect Dec 31, 2026Texas3—State record
HasbroTakes effect Dec 24, 2026Pawtucket587—State record
ConduentTakes effect Aug 28, 2026Conduent1—State record
Ideal US Talent Systems Worker OpCo LLCTakes effect Jul 1, 2026—9,891—State record
Allied Group, LLCCumberland154—State record
Northeast Transportation Services LLCTakes effect May 9, 2026Pawtucket52—State record
EaglePicherTakes effect Mar 15, 2026East Greenwich38—State record

All layoff notices in the state

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Employers hiring most in Rhode Island

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. Seacorp33 open roles
  2. Citizens Financial Group Inc/Ri27 open roles
  3. Anduril Industries17 open roles
  4. Arcfield17 open roles
  5. RTX16 open roles
  6. Gilbane14 open roles
  7. Women and Infants Hospital14 open roles
  8. CVS Health13 open roles
  9. American Systems9 open roles
  10. United Natural Foods (UNFI)8 open roles
  11. Amazon7 open roles
  12. Anduril7 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in Rhode Island

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Higher education in Rhode Island

  • 13

    public and private non-profit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 77,500

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in Rhode Island

Largest colleges in Rhode Island
CollegeCityTypeStudents
Brown UniversityProvidencePrivate non-profit 4-year10,000–19,999
University of Rhode IslandKingstonPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Rhode Island CollegeProvidencePublic 4-year5,000–9,999
Bryant UniversitySmithfieldPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Johnson & Wales University-OnlineProvidencePrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Johnson & Wales University-ProvidenceProvidencePrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
New England Institute of TechnologyEast GreenwichPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Providence CollegeProvidencePrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Rhode Island School of DesignProvidencePrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Roger Williams UniversityBristolPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Salve Regina UniversityNewportPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
College UnboundProvidencePrivate non-profit 4-yearUnder 1,000

All 13 Rhode Island colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Rhode Island. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Rhode Island? How to file for unemployment in Rhode Island (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

3 American Job Centers in Rhode Island

Job fairs and business events in Rhode Island

Hiring events, career workshops, small-business counseling and startup events from chambers, job centers, workforce boards, colleges and economic-development groups in Rhode Island.

Conferences in Rhode Island

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Rhode Island, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 5 with dates announced.

All conferences

Rhode Island counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

Rhode Island cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Show all 20

Laid off or looking for work in Rhode Island?

See what to do first, what Rhode Island unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; layoff notices from Rhode Island’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Rhode Island unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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