Hudson Valley job growth continues, education and health services lead

August job growth in the Hudson Valley continued to reflect the summer”™s trends with education and health services adding the most private sector jobs, 7,400, over the past year, a 4 percent increase from August 2014, according to the state Department of Labor.

The private sector in the seven-county region has netted 14,100 total private sector jobs, a 1.8 percent increase, since the same time last year, bringing the sector”™s total to 780,500.

Job growth in the private sector of Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties increased to a total of 594,400 jobs, increasing 2.3 percent last month compared to the same period in 2014.

Meanwhile, government jobs took a hit by 0.6 percent in the Hudson Valley with an overall loss of 1,000 jobs since August 2014.

The Westchester-Orange-Rockland area increased 2.3 percent in job growth last month compared to August 2014 with leisure and hospitality increasing the most over the year, adding 5,300 jobs, or 7.9 percent. The same industry saw significant job growth in the seven-county Hudson Valley region at a 5.6 percent increase, an addition of 5,300 jobs during the year, which is the fastest August year-to-year growth on record, according to Johny Nelson, an analyst with the state Labor Department in White Plains.

Education and health services increased 5.1 percent since August 2014 in the tri-county region, adding 5,300 jobs during the year.

Financial services saw the largest job decrease throughout the year, losing 1,100 jobs, down 2.4 percent from August 2014. The industry”™s losses were also reflected in Westchester, Orange and Rockland counties, which collectively lost 1,000 jobs since last August, a decrease of 2.7 percent.

The tri-county region lost 600 government jobs over the year, bringing the total of federal, state and local government employment to 109,300 in August 2015.