Rhode Island's Economy Remains In Recession: URI Economist

KINGSTON, RI — Rhode Island's economy has shown no improvement and the state is still in a recession, according to a University of Rhode Island economist.

"Rhode Island’s economic performance through March has gone virtually unchanged since August 2025 and the state is still in a recession, according to University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro," said a post on the university's website.

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"March’s Current Conditions Index value, at 42, remains where it has been for seven of the last eight months," the post said.

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That was the 12th time in the last 15 months that the CCI has fallen below 50, according to the post.

The CCI dropped from 42 in January to 17 in February, per the post.

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"Lardaro says that despite some momentum, the positives are still outweighing the negatives, leading to a continuation of contraction CCI values," the post said.

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"Only five of the CCI’s 12 economic indicators showed improvement over last year," according to the post. "Plus, resident employment, which is the number of employed Rhode Island residents either in-state or out of state, dropped by 8,200 year over year, a number Lardaro calls 'shocking.'"

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