LI unemployment rises to 7.1 percent
Long Island's unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent in November, up from 6.8 percent last year, according to a state Labor Department report Thursday.
The increase was due to more people entering the labor force and looking for jobs compared to last year. There was "both an increase in the number of employed in the region... and also a larger increase in the number of unemployed," said labor department analyst Shital Patel.
The impact from superstorm Sandy was also evident in the figures. The workforce shrank in November compared to October -- indicating that people may have dropped out of the labor force in order to deal with cleanup and other personal issues following the storm or lost their jobs after the storm hit.
Last week, the state Labor Department reported that Long Island had lost 8,100 jobs in November compared to last year due to a combination of government layoffs and Sandy.
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
