October job growth in the Hudson Valley region was weaker than expected by analysts at the state Department of Labor, as employment numbers in the private sector stayed nearly flat from October 2012.
A total of 300 jobs were added last month to the seven-county region”™s 751,100 private-sector jobs in October last year, the state Labor Department reported. Excluding farm employment, the region in October lost 2,900 private sector and government jobs from a year ago, a slight 0.3 percent decline.
Johny Nelson, state labor market analyst in White Plains, noted the region”™s private sector employment rose on average about 1.1 percent a month in year-over-year growth during the first nine months of this year. He said the region”™s weaker job count in October was due to the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown labor market, which saw a decrease of 2,900 private sector jobs, a 1.4 percent drop from October 2012.
The Putnam-Rockland-Westchester market added 2,400 jobs last month from the same period a year ago, a modest 0.5 percent increase. Private sector and government jobs combined in the three-county area increased by 700 from October 2012, a slight 0.1 percent increase.
Also contributing to what Nelson called the Hudson valley region”™s “lackluster” job growth were an unusual decline in educational and health services jobs and continuing significant job losses in manufacturing.
The seven-county region in October had 600 fewer jobs in education and health services than in October 2012, a 0.3 percent decrease. However, the education and health services sectors in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties added 1,800 jobs in October from the previous year, a 1.5 percent increase.
Manufacturers in the Hudson Valley shed 1,600 jobs in October compared with October 2012, a 3.4 percent decrease. The Westchester-Putnam-Rockland market accounted for 700 of those eliminated manufacturing jobs, a 2.8 percent decrease from the previous October. Nelson said that drop is in part due to recent layoffs at IBM Corp.
State, federal and local government employed 3,200 fewer workers in the region in October than it did a year ago, a 2 percent decrease. Of that total decline, 1,700 government jobs were eliminated as of last month in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties compared with October 2012, a 1.9 percent decrease.
Of 14 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by the state Labor Department, the Putnam-Rockland-Westchester area in October ranked 11th in total non-farm job growth rate over the last year. The Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown area ranked last, one of only three areas in the state to show negative year-over-year non-farm job growth. The others were Binghamton and Elmira.
Professional and business services companies in the region added 2,200 jobs in October compared with the previous year, 2.2 percent increase. Employment in “other services” also increased 2.2 percent, adding 900 jobs in October from the previous year. The region”™s leisure and hospitality service sector had 800 fewer jobs last month than a year ago, a 1 percent decline.
The state’s unemployment rate rose slightly in October to 7.7 percent from 7.6 percent in September. State officials said layoffs related to the federal government shutdown last month may have contributed to that increase.
