The unemployment rate in Rhode Island is 11.6 percent. From April 2008 to April 2009, the number of unemployed increased by 22,300. Currently, the number of unemployed Rhode Islanders is over 62,000. Rhode Island has lost 31,700 jobs since its employment peak in January 2007. Most employment sectors have lost jobs since January 2007.

Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate in the New England states. New Hampshire has the lowest rate. Have we learned anything from Rhode Island's job crisis? Some jobs were lost because of the recession. Other jobs were lost because of Rhode Island's inability to solve its economic problems.

Economic performance is a subject that receives little attention from the general public until there is a crisis. It has been the domain of economists and policy makers. With the high rate of unemployment and poor performance in most sectors, the state is getting a lot of attention from other states who want to learn from Rhode Island's mistakes.

New business formations are the only economic indicator in the state holding up in 2009. The other key economic indicators, namely, automobile sales, average home price, bankruptcy filings, building permits (home), building permits (commercial), foreclosures, local sales tax, unemployment rate, unemployed workers and unemployment claims are doing poorly.

It has been forecasted that Rhode Island will have significant job losses in 2009 and 2010. The laws and regulations currently being discussed by the legislature will not solve the state's economic problems since they ignore the underlying issues facing economic performance in the state.

The legislature needs to balance the budget by eliminating programs, revising the personal income and corporate tax structures, changing the pension system, doing away with the rules that make Rhode Island an unfriendly state to do business and providing a new structure for state and local government which consolidates services for a population of a little over one million people. These outcomes are needed now.

The job crisis exists not because of a lack of attention but by postponing the inevitable. The biggest blunder of all was assuming that government would solve the problem by itself. There were many missed opportunities for business, government, unions and education to deal with the economic issues we face today.

To balance the deficit of over $560 million in FY 2010, the state is again looking at one-time fixes such as federal stimulus dollars and increases in fees and specialized taxes. The first lesson to be learned is avoiding the inevitable will only create a larger deficit for FY 2011. The deficit will grow unless pension and benefit reform takes place, collective bargaining agreements change and new sources of funds are found.

Government officials and legislators believe the deficit is mostly an expenditures problem. Soon budget cuts will reach the point that the level of services in education, healthcare, public safety and business regulation will be paralyzed by not having personnel to deal with day to day problems. The long term solution is increasing revenue through job creation.

To find new sources of revenue, the legislature is looking at the feasibility of a full scale casino at Twin River and a port facility at Quonset. Sooner or later the state will consider taxes as a way to balance the budget. This would be a mistake.

Many believe that applying business leadership to government results in more efficient government. The results have not proven this correct. Recent studies found that the state in 2008 and 2009 lacked a unified approach to economic development, taxation and pension reform. Therefore, the second lesson is that leadership and legislative support are needed to build business confidence. The state needs leaders who have the courage to make bold decisions that mobilize business executives and union leaders to work together to support economic growth.

The third lesson is that whining, sitting back and resisting change do not solve economic problems. Rhode Island was early into the recession and will be among the last leaving the recession if it does not take action to change how it approaches economic development. The state can not wait for new government leadership. With hundreds of bills before the legislature, we need legislation now to promote economic growth and development. The legislation needs to support Rhode Island's small businesses and not make it more expensive for them to continue to do business. Small businesses will be the job creators that bring new businesses to the state.

The fourth lesson is that government can not solve economic problems by itself. Rhode Islanders expect government rather than business, unions and education to create jobs. Businesses create jobs when consumers, businesses and the government are confident about their future. Without an educated and skilled workforce, there will not be enough trained individuals to do the jobs. Unions have to be realistic in their demands if Rhode Island businesses are to competitive.

Businesses do not move to Rhode Island for many reasons. Some reasons may be the state's tax structure and the lack of availability of a skilled workforce. Other reasons may include the state's image, its placement on negative lists familiar to location specialists and the lack of direction in economic development.

The last lesson to be learned is to make economic development everybody's business. Rhode Island has many strategic assets that other states lack. These assets can be used to attract higher paying jobs in high-tech and support employment sectors such as leisure and hospitality, financial services, education and health services and business and professional services. Rhode Island needs to be rebranded as a place to do business.