Lower Hudson Valley unemployment sneaks higher in November

The Lower Hudson Valley unemployment rate has increased over last year’s numbers, even as the total number of jobs in the seven-county region has increased, according to state Department of Labor data.

The region’s 4.5 percent unemployment rate for November is up from 4.1 percent in November 2016 and from 4.3 percent last month.

The state labor report estimates 1.08 million people in the lower Hudson Valley region were employed in November. That’s up about 1 percent from the 1.06 million people in November 2016. But the number of people unemployed in region also grew. The region reported 51,500 unemployed people in November, compared with 45,200 in November 2016 and 49,000 in October 2017.

Among the region’s seven counties, Westchester County tied with Orange County for the second highest unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent. Sullivan County’s 5.2 percent was highest, while Dutchess County was lowest with 4.3 percent.

Westchester’s 4.6 percent unemployment rate is up from 4.1 percent in November 2016 and 4.4 percent in October.

The Lower Hudson Valley region saw the greatest year-over-year job growth in the education and health services sector and financial activities sector, which gained 3.3 percent and 2.9 percent in total employment, respectively.

The lower Hudson Valley lost the most jobs compared to a year ago in the information and manufacturing sectors, where total jobs were down 3.8 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

The region’s unemployment rate was equal to the overall state rate. Unemployment in New York overall is flat from November 2016 numbers and down 0.1 percent from October. The U.S. unemployment rate of 3.9 percent is down from 4.4 percent a year ago.

The highest unemployment rates among the region’s cities were in Mount Vernon, 6.3 percent; Newburgh, 5.7 percent; and Yonkers, 5.4 percent.

The lowest unemployment among the region’s cities were in White Plains, 4.2 percent; and Middletown, 5 percent.

The state”™s area unemployment rates are calculated with a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics model, which uses a monthly survey of approximately 3,100 households in New York. The state’s private sector job count, meanwhile, is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers, also conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.