When 4,000 Rhode Island jobs disappear and nobody cares

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A funny thing happens every January or February. During most of the year, journalists and politicians trumpet relatively small gains in employment or drops in the unemployment rate.  Gov. Gina Raimondo repeatedly proclaims, for example, that Rhode Island's unemployment rate dropped faster over the year than any other state.

But then, come the beginning of the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revises its numbers, generally smoothing things out and reducing Rhode Island's numbers. (Some states go up, but Rhode Island's never do, at least in recent years.) As a consequence, this time around 4,278 Rhode Islanders who were supposedly working simply disappeared, dropping employment by nearly one percentage point.  The number of Rhode Islanders supposedly looking for work dropped by 2,626, and the unemployment rate slipped back three-tenths of a percentage point, to 5.4 percent, not the proclaimed 5.1 percent.