Providence, RI · Hiring guide
In Rhode Island, a submarine contract or a hospital budget moves the whole job market. Careerscape is a national staffing agency whose recruiters specialize by industry and fill health care, engineering, trades and corporate roles for Providence employers remotely.
By the numbers
These are federal figures for the Providence metro, which covers all of Rhode Island plus Bristol County, Massachusetts, home to Fall River, New Bedford and Attleboro. The headline: factory jobs grew fast over the past year while health care held flat.
Rhode Island's undersea economy
The fastest-moving part of the Rhode Island market sits on Narragansett Bay. Here is what each piece does, what it hires for and where the new workers come from. Figures are from the employers, the Navy and local news.
General Dynamics Electric Boat's yard in North Kingstown builds the mid-body sections of both Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines. In February 2026 the company set a goal of 8,000 hires for the year across Connecticut and Rhode Island, with 3,500 at Quonset Point, and listed 946 Quonset openings at the time.
On July 29, 2026, Electric Boat won a contract for nine Virginia-class and five Columbia-class submarines. Part of the money goes to Quonset, where the company plans more buildings and assembly halls for other modules. Its president said it was over halfway to the 8,000-hire goal and planned roughly as many hires in 2027.
The Navy's undersea research, test and engineering lab has a workforce split roughly evenly between government civilians and support contractors. In fiscal 2024, 73% of its full-time civilian staff were scientists or engineers, and the average civilian salary was $122,000. A May 2026 hiring event sought engineering, data science, math, computer science, cybersecurity, physics and contracting talent.
Electric Boat committed $25 million to SAIL, a submarine trades training center at the New England Institute of Technology in Warwick, with $20 million more from the Navy. NEIT expects about 3,000 trainees in welding, shipfitting, pipefitting, machining and electrical work over three years, who then move to Quonset Point.
The park around the yard counts more than 15,000 full- and part-time jobs at over 260 companies, plus the Port of Davisville, the state's only public port. Suppliers there hire machinists, quality inspectors, logistics staff and engineers too.
Welders, pipefitters, electricians, engineers and drafters can choose among the shipyard, its suppliers and everyone else. Careerscape actively recruits cleared professionals (Secret, TS, TS/SCI, CI and Full Scope polygraph) for defense contractors, and trades and engineering talent for employers who compete with them.
What's hiring
Most of Providence's white-collar and clinical hiring runs through a few large institutions. Job counts are BLS figures for the metro, September 2026 (preliminary).
Brown University Health, the state's largest hospital system and the former Lifespan, has over 17,000 workers across Rhode Island Hospital, the Miriam, Bradley and Newport Hospital. Care New England runs Women & Infants and Butler in Providence and Kent in Warwick. Health care and social assistance employs 129,900, flat from a year earlier.
Brown University and the hospital systems anchor research and clinical training. The University of Rhode Island opened a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory on its Narragansett Bay Campus in June 2026. Private educational services employs 32,500, a figure that rises and falls with the academic calendar.
CVS Health is headquartered in Woonsocket; its October 2026 releases still carry that dateline. Hasbro is a different story: it has leased space in Boston's Seaport and expects to leave its Pawtucket offices in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Shipbuilding and its supplier base helped push manufacturing to 64,300 jobs, up 4.9% in a year. Demand runs from production trades to quality, planning and engineering roles.
Public employers, including state agencies, public schools and federal sites such as NUWC, account for 98,000 metro jobs, about the same as a year earlier.
Pay benchmarks
Median annual wages for the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro from the federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Pipefitters and electricians earn well above the national median here, welders and machinists about the national rate, and software developers a little below it.
| Role | Median annual pay | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Electronics engineers (except computer) | $132,870 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Software developers | $130,690 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Medical and health services managers | $119,260 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Mechanical engineers | $111,360 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Registered nurses | $99,880 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Accountants and auditors | $95,020 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters | $79,820 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Electricians | $73,980 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Mechanical drafters | $69,990 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Machinists | $58,950 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers | $52,800 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
Medians cover all employers and experience levels. For comparison, national medians in the same data are $63,800 for pipefitters, $63,190 for electricians and $135,980 for software developers. Rhode Island's minimum wage is $16.00 an hour in 2026 and rises to $17.00 on January 1, 2027. For ranges by seniority, see the 2026 Salary Guide.
Pay-range rules, RI and MA
The Providence metro crosses into Massachusetts, and the two states treat pay ranges differently. Current as of October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-6-22, in force since January 1, 2023, an employer must give an applicant the wage range for the job if asked, and should offer it before discussing pay. As of October 2026, Rhode Island does not require ranges in job postings.
Employers must give an employee the range for their position at hire, when they move into a new position, and whenever they ask. The law has no employer-size threshold.
Employers may not ask about or rely on an applicant's past pay. After an initial offer, they may use pay history only if the candidate volunteers it unprompted, and only to support a higher offer. Asking about salary expectations is allowed.
Since October 29, 2025, Massachusetts employers with 25 or more employees must include a pay range in postings for jobs whose primary place of work is in Massachusetts, including remote roles based there. A Fall River or Attleboro opening can fall under this rule even if the company is in Providence.
If you hire on both sides of the line, or compete with Massachusetts employers for the same people, post a good-faith range everywhere. Candidates comparing offers will see the Massachusetts ads anyway.
Where the work is
Distances are short, and many candidates weigh jobs across the whole state. The MBTA Providence Line links Wickford Junction, T.F. Green Airport, Providence and Pawtucket/Central Falls to Boston.
The hospital and university core, with Rhode Island Hospital, Women & Infants and Brown. Brown says it has invested $341 million in the Jewelry District.
A commuter rail station opened here in January 2023. Hasbro expects to move its headquarters from Pawtucket to Boston in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The airport district, with Kent Hospital and NEIT's Post Road campus, where the SAIL shipbuilding training center is being built.
Electric Boat's yard and the 3,200-acre Quonset Business Park. Wickford Junction, also in North Kingstown, is the nearest commuter rail stop.
NUWC Division Newport sits here, and 23% of its workforce lives in Massachusetts, a sign of how far people commute to it.
CVS Health's headquarters is in Woonsocket, drawing pharmacy, IT, finance and analytics talent from the Blackstone Valley.
Bristol County, Massachusetts is part of the same federal metro area. Jobs based here follow Massachusetts pay-range posting rules.
For employers
Rules and habits that catch out-of-state and first-time employers. Current as of October 2026; not legal advice.
With Electric Boat aiming for thousands of hires and training its own pipeline, welders, pipefitters and electricians have options. Check the metro medians above and move quickly once you find someone.
Rhode Island's minimum wage rose to $16.00 on January 1, 2026 and goes to $17.00 on January 1, 2027. Entry-level and temporary pay plans should already include the 2027 step.
Employers with 18 or more employees must provide paid sick and safe leave, up to 40 hours a year. Smaller employers must still provide the leave, though it can be unpaid.
From January 1, 2026, Rhode Island's employee-funded Temporary Caregiver Insurance covers up to 8 weeks and adds siblings as covered family. Expect candidates to ask how your leave policy fits with it.
Since January 1, 2026, employers must give new employees written notice of pay rate, pay schedule, sick and vacation policies and employer contact details, and keep a signed acknowledgment on file.
Lead with the range, skip pay-history questions, and keep interviews short. Careerscape sends a pre-screened shortlist through the private Employer Portal, where you can request interviews and leave feedback. Request talent to start.
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