The newest figures released by the New York State Department of Labor reveal that Westchester’s unemployment rate has spiked nearly three-quarters of a point in just one month’s time—to 7.7% in January, up from 7.0% in December 2009. Rockland and Putnam are faring no better, jumping to 7.5% and 7.4%, respectively.
According to the labor department’s analyst, “the regional job market continues to suffer from this protracted economic downturn…Construction has been especially hard hit, with the sector accounting for more than a third of all private sector jobs over the period.”
