More job losses for Hudson region
The unemployment rate in September was up slightly in Westchester and was unchanged from August in some parts of the Hudson Valley. The region”™s private-sector job losses continued to mount in September, though at a slower pace than in previous months.
The state Labor Department said the seven-county Hudson region lost another 2,200 private-sector jobs in September. Since September 2008, 15,500 private jobs have been shed from a private-sector work force of 755,900, a 2.1 percent drop.
The Putnam-Rockland-Westchester labor market gained 200 private jobs in September. The total of 476,700 private jobs in the tri-county area last month was a decline of 7,800 jobs, or 1.6 percent, from a year earlier.
The Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown labor market lost 100 jobs in September and was down 5,900 jobs, or 2.9 percent, over the last 12 months.
Unemployment in the Hudson Valley region reached 7.7 percent in September, up from 7.6 percent in August and 5.4 percent a year earlier. The state unemployment rate in September was 8.8 percent, up from 8.7 percent in August and 5.7 percent in September 2008. The national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent last month, a slight improvement from August but well above the 6 percent jobless rate in September last year.
Â
Westchester”™s 7.4 percent unemployment rate in September was up from 7.3 percent in August. The county”™s jobless rate was 5.2 percent in September 2008.
Â
Dutchess and Orange counties, both at 8.2 percent, had the highest September unemployment rates in the region. Dutchess was up from 8 percent in August and 5.5 percent a year ago. The jobless rate in Orange was unchanged from August and up from 5.7 percent in September 2008.
Other September unemployment rates in the region were: Putnam County, 7 percent, up from 6.9 percent in August and 4.8 percent in September 2008; Rockland County, 7.4 percent, up from 7.3 percent in August and 5.2 percent a year ago.
Regional labor market analysts said private-sector employment gains in the Hudson Valley since September last year were limited to educational and health services, where 4,500 jobs were added. The greatest job losses have come in trade, transportation and utilities, down 5,300 jobs; manufacturing, down 3,800, and professional and business services, down3,700 jobs; leisure and hospitality, down 2,800; natural resources, mining and construction, with 2,000 jobs lost; information, down 1,400 jobs, and financial activities, which has shed 900 positions.
The Hudson region”™s government sector shed 1,600 jobs over the year.
“The region”™s private sector employment continued its downward spiral, but this month”™s job numbers showed slight improvement,” said Johny Nelson, labor market analyst at the state Labor Department in White Plains. “Albeit small, it is still welcoming news, considering how bleak the job market has been in recent months.”