RI celebrates rebounding economy this Labor Day

Each year on Labor Day we honor the hardworking women and men that drive our state’s economy forward. This has been an encouraging time of growth and momentum for workers, with Rhode Island gaining 5,000 jobs this year and a new national report showing we rank higher than every other New England state for advanced industry job growth.

Rhode Islanders are returning to work rebuilding our roads and bridges through RhodeWorks, modernizing our schools with the School Building Authority, and completing green energy retrofit projects through the Infrastructure Bank. We’re attracting new high-wage jobs from out of state, like GE Digital, and some of our biggest employers are doubling down on the state, including Citizens Bank. We have a long way to go, but it’s clear we are moving in the right direction.

Labor Day is an important time to recommit to supporting and protecting our workers. It’s why we raised our minimum wage last year and we’re working to do it again. We’re cracking down on misclassification and going after companies that break the rules to ensure that every worker gets a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.

Our resilient and tireless workers do everything they can to grow our economy and strengthen our middle class. And in turn, I’ll be relentless in doing everything I can to ensure everyone has the opportunity to make it in Rhode Island.

I wish all Rhode Islanders a safe and happy Labor Day.