Economist: RI lags in recovering from recession, but starting to catch up with New England

A senior economist from Moody's Analytics says Rhode Island still lags in recovering from the recession but it's starting to catch up with its New England neighbors.

Aaron Smith presented an economic forecast to fiscal advisers for the House, Senate and Budget Office on Friday as part of the spring Revenue and Caseload Estimating Conference. They will use his data to help revise estimates for the state's revenues that form the basis for the budget.

Smith says Rhode Island's unemployment rate is falling and it's recovering more of the jobs lost during the recession.

The unemployment rate had been the worst in New England. It stood at 6.3 percent in March, which is now lower than Connecticut.

Rhode Island recovered 60 percent of the jobs that were lost, surpassing Maine.