Projo Biz Blog

Providence Journal photo / Bob Thayer

Tent cities for the homeless, like this one off South Water Street in Providence, have popped up around Rhode Island, a sign of the impacts of the prolonged recession.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A new Brown University survey has revealed deep skepticism among Rhode Islanders about the health of the state's economy.

News headlines, have focused on the finding that 60 percent of respondents favor gay marriage. But the questions about the economy also yielded interesting results.

Despite widespread support for President Obama, the Journal reported Thursday that "Rhode Island's jittery view of the economy has not changed much." The poll found that three of every four Rhode Islanders believe the economy is doing poorly and 23 percent say its condition is "not so good," together representing 98 percent of responses. In February, 82 percent of respondents in a Brown poll gave those answers.

There are reasons for melancholy. The state's jobless rate hit 11.1 percent in April, the highest level in three decades. Many of those still with jobs have been forced to cut their hours, with participation in the state's WorkShare program, which provides unemployment payments to workers forced into a part-time schedule, exploding.

The Current Conditions Index, a measure of the state's economic health, was at its lowest possible level in March.

The downbeat view of the state's economy may also reflect the personal struggles of Rhode Islanders to keep afloat financially. Forty-two percent of Rhode Islanders classify their personal finances as "not so good" or "poor." Sixty-nine percent have a friend or family member who recently lost their job, up from 66 percent in February.

Meanwhile, Rhode Islanders say they have not seen much help from the massive federal stimulus package, echoing complaints from Governor Carcieri about the pace of federal spending. In the Brown poll, 80 percent of respondents said the stimulus "hasn't made a difference" in their personal financial situation.

 Tags  economy politics recession Rhode Island stimulus unemployment

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