RI's unemployment recovery continues to lag that of the U.S. Photo: RIPEC Rhode Island is in the midst of a protracted economic downturn and trails the rest of the nation, according to the Rhode Island Current Economic Indicator Briefing for the fourth quarter of 2020. The report was published Friday by the Center for Global and Regional Economic Studies at Bryant University and the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. According to researchers, economic data for Q4 2020 are mixed, with evidence of a slump in December compared to November. After expanding by 35.5 percent in Q3, Rhode Island’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to have decreased by 2.0 percent in Q4.