WHAT: May 2015 won’t turn out to be as disappointing as it looked last month. While this year started fairly slowly, there was an obvious and valid excuse – atypically bad weather. An April improvement did not come. But maybe, just maybe, that bounce waited until May. The employment data for May were the best that Rhode Island has seen in quite some time, and virtually all of the key numbers moved in a positive direction. The Current Conditions Index improved to 67 in May from 58 in April.

WHO: URI Professor of Economics Leonard Lardaro, creator and author of the Current Conditions Index.

WHEN: Monday, July 13, 2015

HOW: Use attached information, including summary and charts prepared by Lardaro for news reports. He is available for broadcast and print interviews. The new information and other historical information can also be found on Lardaro’s web site at http://www.llardaro.com/current.htm. Lardaro will be blogging about the new labor data during the coming weeks. You can find his discussion and charts at http://rieconomy.blogspot.com.

Available Online: http://www.llardaro.com/current.htm (NEW URL) Blog: http://rieconomy.blogspot.com

FOR INFORMATION: Leonard Lardaro, office, 401-874-4128, home, 401-783-9563

Dave Lavallee, URI Marketing & Communications, 401-874-2116.

BACKGROUND: The Current Conditions Index, created by Lardaro, measures the strength of the present economic climate in Rhode Island by following the behavior of 12 indicators.