Drop In Hudson Valley Private-Sector Jobs: NY Labor Department

The powerhouse sectors that drove the Hudson Valley's low unemployment rates for the past couple of years suffered in the coronavirus pandemic.

According to figures released this week by the state Department of Labor, jobs were lost between August of 2019 and August of 2020 in predictable areas:

• Within the leisure and hospitality sector, job losses were greatest in accommodation and food services, especially food services and drinking places.
• Within the professional and business services sector, job losses were concentrated in administrative and support services and professional, scientific and technical services.
• Within the trade, transportation and utilities sector, job losses were focused in retail trade, especially clothing and accessories stores.

Even even health services lost jobs — 130,500 statewide.

The 12.7 percent drop in private sector jobs in the Orange-Rockland-Westchester metro area from August 2019 to August 2020 was worse than the statewide total of 12.2 percent.

The drops in the other Hudson Valley metro areas were less dramatic:

• Dutchess-Putnam: private sector jobs down 10.5 percent
• Kingston: 6.9 percent

There was good news.

Unemployment rates dropped month-to-month. Outside of New York City, the unemployment rate decreased to 9.9 percent from 13.1 percent. The number of unemployed New Yorkers has decreased from 1,525,900 in July to 1,186,900 in August 2020.

The number of private sector jobs in New York State increased over the month by 96,300, or 1.4 percent, to 7,198,600. That represents the fourth straight month of job gains after the precipitous losses of March and April, the labor department reported.

However, New York's is the 5th worst recovery in the U.S. so far, according to WalletHub, which issued a new report using as an example New York's 1,200,119 unemployed people in August 2020 vs 393,551 in August 2019.