Rhode Island unemployment rate stays at 6.1 percent

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Rhode Island's unemployment rate continues in the doldrums.

The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training says the unemployment rate in April was 6.1 percent.

That's 1.1 percentage points higher than in April 2007.

It's also significantly higher than the national unemployment rate, which stood at 5 percent in April. The unemployment rate in neighboring Massachusetts dipped to 4.1 percent in April, its lowest level in nearly seven years.

The labor department says April marked the fourth consecutive month of job losses for the Ocean State. Sectors that saw the biggest losses for the month included government and manufacturing.