R.I. unemployment rate drops slightly in August to 10.7 percent

PROVIDENCE -- Rhode Island's unemployment rate dropped slightly to 10.7 percent in August, and the state gained 1,100 jobs, according to data released Friday by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

Since August 2011, the unemployment rate has dropped from 11.4 percent, last year's peak, with declines recorded for each of the last four months.

However, Rhode Island remains well above the national rate of 8.1 percent. Unemployment here has remained higher than the national rate since July 2005.

DLT Director Charles J. Fogarty said the overall trend of a declining unemployment rate demonstrates "slow, steady progress," but he acknowledged that such incremental declines are "agonizingly frustrating for people who want to work."