Westchester”™s unemployment rate is at its lowest level in nearly three years, at 6.2 percent for October, according to the state Department of Labor.
As the region gears up for the holidays, local employment experts say they expect seasonal hiring to be slightly better than it was a year ago.
During October, Westchester continued to post significantly stronger employment numbers than the state and nation as a whole, which registered seasonally adjusted unemployment rates of 7.9 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
In Westchester, the unemployment rate fell to 6.2 percent from 6.5 percent in September and from 6.9 percent in October 2010, although the labor department qualified the numbers, saying they were seasonally unadjusted and did not account for regular fluctuations in the demand for labor.
Since October 2010, net employment in the Westchester-Rockland-Putnam region has increased by 4,900, backed by steady private-sector growth in education, health services and hospitality.
The education and health services sector is the three-county region”™s largest employer, providing work for 122,700 people. Over the past year, the sector added 5,500 positions ”“ good for a 4.7 percent increase.
The leisure and hospitality sector also continued to show strong year-over-year growth, adding 1,800 positions since October 2010, an increase of 4 percent.
Job losses in government, construction and manufacturing continued to drag on the number of net jobs created for the three-county region. In a positive sign, the natural resources, mining and construction sector posted net employment gains in the Hudson Valley region for the first time in nearly three-and-a-half years, according to labor department analyst John Nelson.
”˜Tis the season for hiring
Richard Greenwald, president of The Concorde Group, a White Plains personnel and staffing agency, said Westchester companies are showing signs they will increase seasonal hiring from last year.
“It”™s going to be a little bit up from last year,” Greenwald said. “(Businesses) want to see how things go on Black Friday, but they feel like they”™re at least going to add to some of their staff and get in support to handle orders and some of the other work that needs to be done.”
A strong holiday shopping season could be the boost employers have been waiting for, he added.
“If we have a good holiday season, barring any major tragedies or major news that comes globally, it”™ll definitely lead to more hiring in the first quarter.”
