Jobless numbers dip

Westchester County and the lower Hudson Valley region in April saw unemployment rates decline and private-sector job numbers rise slightly from March, according to the state Labor Department. Yet April unemployment in the three-county region ”“ Westchester, Putnam and Rockland ”“ was up 2.6 percent from a year ago as the area lost 9,200 private-sector jobs in that one-year span, a 1.9 percent drop.

In the seven-county Hudson Valley region, the economy in April “continued to reel from the effects of the national recession,” said John Nelson, labor market analyst at the state Labor Department office in White Plains. The region had 736,700 private-sector jobs in April, the lowest level for the month in five years. The valley region, which includes Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties, has shed 15,700 private-sector jobs since April 2008, a 2.1 percent drop.

Hudson Valley auto dealers especially have felt the impact of the financial crisis, with seven dealerships closing in the last year, according to the market analyst.   

Nelson noted the government sector, long immune to economic slumps, also has begun to shed jobs. The Hudson Valley region in April had 400 fewer public-sector jobs than a year ago, a 0.2 percent decline. In contrast, the region”™s government job count grew by 1.6 percent from April 2007 to April 2008.

In the Westchester-Putnam-Rockland labor market, the number of private-sector jobs decreased by 9,200, or 1.9 percent, in a one-year span from April 2008, the state Labor Department reported.

In Westchester, the April unemployment rate was 6.5 percent, the fifth lowest among New York”™s 62 counties and 1 percent below the statewide unemployment rate for the month. The national unemployment rate in April was 8.6 percent.

April unemployment filings in Westchester were down from 7.1 percent in March but still well above the county”™s 3.9 percent unemployment rate of April 2008.  

In Putnam, unemployment dropped to 6.1 percent in April from 6.7 percent in March, the second lowest in the state behind Tompkins County. April unemployment in Putnam was up from 3.7 percent a year ago.

Rockland”™s unemployment rate in April was 6.6 percent, ranking it sixth lowest in the state with Nassau County. The unemployment rate in Rockland was 6.7 percent in March and 3.9 percent in April 2008.

Rural Sullivan County again had the highest unemployment rate in the Hudson Valley region, though its 8.4 percent jobless level in April was down from 9.9 percent in March. Sullivan”™s unemployment rate was 6 percent in April 2008.

In Dutchess, unemployment dropped from 7.5 percent in March to 6.8 percent in April, the eighth lowest rate among New York”™s 62 counties. Unemployment in Dutchess was 4.2 percent in April 2008.

Ulster”™s unemployment rate was 7 percent in April, down from 7.8 percent in March. The county”™s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent a year ago.

Orange also saw a modest drop in unemployment this spring, from 7.9 percent in March to 7.6 percent in April. The county”™s unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in April 2008.

    
In Albany last month, state lawmakers enacted legislation that extends unemployment benefits to New Yorkers for an additional 13 weeks. The bill allows the state to tap an estimated $645 million in additional federal aid through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for unemployment relief. To be eligible for the federal stimulus funds, lawmakers amended the state”™s unemployment insurance law to assure that individuals who leave work because of compelling family circumstances, such as the illness of an immediate family member, domestic violence or the need to accompany a spouse who must move to take on new employment, will be eligible for unemployment benefits. The bill also recognizes that part-time workers cannot be disqualified for benefits because they seek similar part-time work.

In Westchester, county officials have started a new summer jobs program for low-income youths between 21 and 24 years of age in which participating businesses will receive a 100 percent wage subsidy from federal stimulus funding. The employment program will be administered through 10 youth service agencies around the county.

Officials said the county”™s One Stop Employment Center by late May had lined up more than 60 public and private employers who will hire up to 300 youths for up to 11 weeks.  Hired workers also will take part in a structured program to improve their work readiness skills for the “green jobs” market.