Hudson Valley job market expands in April

The lower Hudson Valley job market expanded in April, according to a state Department of Labor report, and outpaced state and national job creation. 

An estimated 8,800 nonfarm jobs were added in Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties, for an increase of 1.3 percent from March. For the state, the increase was 0.8 percent.

The private sector accounted for all of the regional growth, with 9,100 new jobs, offset by a loss of 300 government jobs.

The one-year regional job picture remained steady, with a net job gain of 5,500 since April 2016, an increase of 0.8 percent.

The leisure and hospitality sector accounted for an estimated 4,000 new jobs in April in Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties, followed by professional and business services, with 2,400 new jobs and natural resources, mining and construction, which added 1,900 positions.

Employment at financial activities companies in the three-county area lagged in April, with the sector shedding 300 jobs. The manufacturing and information sectors were flat.

The broader seven-county Hudson Valley region ”” including Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam and Ulster counties ”” gained 13,600 jobs, a 1.5 percent increase in April, with unemployment holding steady at the 4.1 percent seen in March, slightly above the 4 percent recorded a year ago.

Putnam County had the lowest unemployment, at 3.8 percent, followed by Rockland, 3.9, Dutchess, 4.0, Westchester, 4.1, Orange and Ulster, 4.3, and Sullivan, 4.8 percent. 

Statewide, an estimated 76,200 people found jobs in April with the unemployment rate narrowing to 4.2 percent from 4.6 percent in March. Nationally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 4.4 percent unemployment rate in April.