Employment declined in Rhode Island’s two largest counties, Providence and Kent, from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Mark J. Maggi noted that Providence and Kent had employment losses of 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Employment in Providence was 292,400 in December 2025; Kent reported 77,600 employed. Together, the two largest counties accounted for 73.9 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Average weekly wage gains in Rhode Island’s two large counties were above the national average of 4.2 percent. Providence had a wage increase of 5.6 percent, and Kent had a gain of 4.9 percent.

Weekly wages in the two large counties in Rhode Island were below the national average of $1,569. Average weekly wages were $1,428 in Providence and $1,334 in Kent.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the three small counties in Rhode Island, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all three smaller counties were below the national average: Bristol ($1,495), Newport ($1,420), and Washington ($1,329).

When all five counties in Rhode Island are considered, two reported average weekly wages of less than $1,400, two registered wages from $1,400 to $1,449, and one had an average weekly wage of $1,450 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)