The Hudson Valley”™s unemployment rate hit 5.5 percent in December, down from 5.8 percent in November and down substantially from 7.4 percent in 2012, according to the latest numbers from the state Department of Labor.
Of the 10 labor market regions in the state, the Hudson Valley trailed only Long Island, which at 5.1 percent had the lowest unemployment rate in New York.
“The Empire State”™s economy continued to provide us with good news in December 2013,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, deputy director of the Labor Department”™s Division of Research and Statistics.
According to the department”™s statistics, there were 60,800 unemployed in the region in December 2013, down from 64,700 in November and down from 82,600 in December 2012.
Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties were among the 10 counties in the state with the lowest unemployment rates. Westchester and Rockland had rates of 5.2 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.
Putnam and Rockland saw rates of 4.8 percent and 4.9, respectively, the third and fourth lowest rates in New York. Only Tompkins and Nassau counties had better unemployment rates, with 4.1 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.
From December 2012 to December 2013, the downstate area of Putnam, Rockland and Westchester saw a net growth of 3,000 total nonfarm jobs, or 0.5 percent, and a net gain of 4,400 private sector jobs, or 0.9 percent. According to Johny Nelson, a market analyst with the Labor Department, the growth in the three-county area was supported by a strong education and health care sector, up 2 percent or 2,400 jobs in total.
The 10-county downstate region, which includes New York City and Long Island, saw private sector job growth of 2.6 percent over the same time span. New York City”™s job growth was the most rapid at 2.8 percent. Bronx County, though, did have the worst unemployment rate in the state in December, with a 10.6 percent rate. It was the only county in New York state to have an unemployment rate that touched double digits, though Hamilton and Jefferson counties upstate exceeded the 9 percent threshold.
The Hudson Valley saw private sector employment remain relatively flat from December 2012 to the close of 2013, with a gain of 600 jobs, a 0.1 percent increase. The region”™s employment gains came most from transportation and utilities, with the addition of 2,300 jobs.
The most job losses in the region came in the manufacturing industry, which saw the loss of 1,600 jobs. The government sector, which has seen the largest declines statewide over the time period, lost 2,700 jobs in the Hudson Valley alone. Statewide, 13,200 government jobs were lost and an additional 8,700 jobs were lost in manufacturing.
Most other counties in the region fared better than the statewide average, with only Sullivan County breaking the 7 percent mark, with 7.9 percent in December. Dutchess, Orange and Ulster came in at 5.9 percent, 5.9 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively.
Those numbers were significantly better than the statewide average of 7.1 percent, which was the state”™s lowest rate since January 2009. The state makes up about 6.5 percent of all jobs in the country, according to the Labor Department, and gains in 2013 represented 12 percent of all private sector job growth in the country.
New York”™s private sector jobs increased by 109,900 year over year, which the department said brought the total job count to a record high of 7.5 million. The industries with the largest job gains statewide were educational and health services, with 52,300 jobs added since the end of 2012, and trade-transportation and utilities, which gained 35,900 jobs.
