Ms. Raimondo’s critics say her use of tax incentives — about $130 million so far, according to the Rhode
Island Commerce Corporation — amounts to corporate welfare for some of the nation’s richest companies.
“We’re not hiring cousin Vinny anymore,” Ms. Moakley said, “and that doesn’t go down well here.”
A version of this article appears in print on March 14, 2017, on Page A10 of the New York edition
with the headline: Hiring ‘Hit Parade’ Comes to Rhode Island After Years of Decline.
But Rhode Island reached a milestone in January when unemployment fell to 4.7 percent
— the first time it had dipped below the national average in almost 12 years.
Maureen Moakley, a political scientist at the University of Rhode Island, said Ms. Raimondo
also faced “latent resentment” rooted in sexism in this culturally conservative state.
Indeed, after Boston won the sweepstakes last year for General Electric’s headquarters (Boston and the state of Massachusetts gave G. E.
$145 million in incentives), the company acknowledged that Rhode Island had been a strong competitor.
As of September, when the most recent poll was taken — before much of the business influx — Rhode
Islanders gave her an approval rating of 38 percent and a disapproval rating of 55 percent.
