The unemployment rates for Westchester County and the Hudson Valley continued to rise as a significant increase in the region”™s labor force statistically canceled out strong private-sector gains in July.
In Westchester, unemployment rose to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent in June and 6.9 percent in July 2011, according to the state Department of Labor.
Hudson Valley unemployment was unchanged from June at 8 percent but was still up significantly compared to July 2011, when unemployment stood at 7.3 percent.
Year-to-year comparisons are more valid than month-to-month comparisons for the regional and county data, which are not seasonally adjusted, the Labor Department said.
Unemployment increased despite the addition of 16,500 jobs by private sector employers in the Hudson Valley over the 12 months ending in July, representing a 2.2 percent annual increase.
In comparison, private sector employment statewide increased 1.7 percent for the 12 months ending in July, while private sector employment across the U.S. increased 1.8 percent.
Bohdan M. Wynnyk, deputy director of the state Labor Department”™s division of research and statistics, attributed the increased unemployment rates to the significant uptick in the number of residents seeking work compared to a year ago.
From July 2011 to July 2012, the number of employed Westchester residents increased from 452,300 to 458,700.
Over that same period, however, the number of unemployed residents also increased, from 33,700 to 37,700.
Across the Hudson Valley, the resident civilian labor force ”“ which includes all those who are employed or who are unemployed but actively seeking work ”“ increased 1.7 percent from July 2011 to July 2012 as 19,900 more people entered the labor force.
In Westchester, Rockland and Putnam combined, the leisure and hospitality sector added a whopping 7,000 jobs, representing a 12.8 percent increase over the 12 months ending in July.
The private education and health services sector added 4,200 jobs for 3.7 percent growth over that period, while the financial activities and professional and business services sectors added 1,100 jobs and 2,600 jobs, respectively.
In contrast, the government sector shrank 2.6 percent, losing 2,500 jobs over the past 12 months in the three-county region; the natural resources, mining and construction sector contracted 6 percent, losing 2,000 jobs; and the manufacturing sector was down 2 percent, losing 500 jobs.
Rich Greenwald, president of The Concorde Group, a White Plains staffing firm, said he has seen increased hiring in health care, accounting and for temporary and full-time administrative positions.
He cautioned that businesses may take a cautious approach to hiring until after the elections.
“I truly believe that companies are probably holding off a little bit now with the election coming up, trying to get a sense of the landscape,” he said. “I think in the next quarter we”™ll probably see the same things we saw the last three to six months.”
With the “fiscal cliff” represented by the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts fast approaching and the future of the Affordable Care Act possibly dependent on the outcome of the election, Greenwald said business owners are taking a wait-and-see approach.
“In any business, uncertainty is a killer,” he said.
