Unemployment rates in Westchester County and the seven-county Hudson Valley region dropped below 6 percent in November, when about 14,200 fewer residents in the region were out of work than a year ago, according to the state Department of Labor.
Westchester”™s unemployment rate in November was 5.5 percent, down from 6 percent in October and 6.8 percent in November 2012. Of the 62 counties in New York, Westchester had the seventh lowest jobless rate for the month, tied with Albany and Columbia counties.
Neighboring Putnam County”™s 5 percent unemployment rate was the second lowest in the state in November, behind Tompkins County”™s 4.4 percent rate. Rockland County had the fifth best unemployment record in the state at 5.3 percent.
Unemployment in the Hudson Valley region was at 5.8 percent in November, down from 6.3 percent in October and 7.1 percent in November 2012. Of the state”™s 10 labor market regions, the Hudson Valley trailed only Long Island, at 5.4 percent, and the Capital region, at 5.7 percent, with the lowest November unemployment rate.
Jobless rates in the region”™s northernmost and more rural counties remained higher than 6 percent in November. The Labor Department reported unemployment rates of 6.2 percent in Dutchess County, 6.3 percent in Orange County and 6.8 percent in Ulster County. Sullivan County”™s 8 percent unemployment rate was the 11th highest in the state for the month.
