In articles and talks over the summer, I’ve been playing on the General Assembly’s branding of its economic policies as “moving the needle.”  Needles can move both ways, I’ve been noting.

As it’s been wont to do, lately, the Rhode Island Dept. of Labor and Training has released preliminary numbers for the state’s employment situation a day before the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the numbers for all states.  I’ll have my usual full review up tomorrow, but for now, here’s a basic chart of employment and labor force in Rhode Island to answer the question of whether the needle moved: