The New York State Department of Labor’s latest employment data pegs Westchester’s unemployment rate at 4.6 percent in May. That’s up slightly from April’s 4.4 percent, but down from May 2014’s 5 percent figure. Rockland checks in at 4.6 percent, also, while Putnam’s 4.3 percent is the lowest in the Hudson Valley region.
In sheer numbers, the Orange-Rockland-Westchester tri-county area saw a marked increase in its total job count from May 2014 to May 2015, rising by about 5,000, or 0.9 percent. New York State overall saw private-sector job growth as well, adding 47,400 jobs for the year—an increase of 0.6 percent.
Looking at the larger Hudson Valley region, the biggest year-over-year job gains were concentrated in education and health services, which grew by about 5,000 jobs, or 2.6 percent. This is the sector’s largest single-year increase in 16 years. Other increases were concentrated in leisure and hospitality (which added about 1,500 jobs), professional and business services (about 1,200), and “other services” (about 1,500).
The Hudson Valley’s biggest loss of jobs took place in natural resources, mining, and construction, which shed about 1,500 jobs. Notable decreases also happened in “information” (-1,000), finance (-900), and manufacturing (-700).
