Hudson Valley unemployment increased sharply in April

Private-sector job growth in the Hudson Valley was weaker than expected during the month of April, according to the New York State Department of Labor.

Unemployment for the Hudson Valley rose to 7.2 percent compared with 6.7 percent in April 2011.

Over the past year, private-sector employers added 6,600 jobs, representing an increase of 0.9 percent.

Those gains, however, were offset by a surge in the region”™s total labor force, which comprises all residents who are employed and all those who are unemployed but actively seeking work.

Between April 2011 and this past April, the Hudson Valley labor force increased by 5.8 percent, while the total number of unemployed residents increased by 7.3 percent.

“Although the regional job market continues to improve, the private-sector job count in April 2012 came in weaker than expected,” John Nelson, Hudson Valley Region analyst for the Department of Labor, said in an email.

Through the first quarter of 2012, private-sector employment increased by an average annual rate of 1.8 percent, compared with just 0.9 percent in April.

From April 2010 to April 2011, private-sector employers in the Hudson Valley added 14,300 jobs, representing an increase of 2 percent, Nelson said.

The three-county region including Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties had a slightly lower unemployment level than the Hudson Valley as a whole.

For April, unemployment in the three-county region was 6.6 percent, up from 6.2 percent in April 2011.

Private-sector employment in the three counties increased by 3,600, or 0.8 percent.

Retailers were a bright spot, adding 2,400 jobs in the three-county region over the past 12 months.

Additionally, as has been the case for several consecutive months, the financial activities, professional and business services and private education and health care sectors continued to anchor the region, adding a combined 7,100 jobs and increasing at annual rates of 3.9 percent, 4.2 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

Net job growth was muted by sweeping year-over-year cuts in the construction, manufacturing and leisure and hospitality sectors.

Notably, employment in the natural resources, mining and construction sector fell by 2,400, or 8 percent, over the past year.