LI unemployment rate drops to 3.9% for July, state data show
Tim Carew, from the Suffolk County Department of Labor, helps participants at the " Talent Connection" Job Expo, for adults with special needs, at Farmingdale State College, June 8. Credit: Linda Rosier
Long Island’s unemployment rate last month was 3.9 percent, down 0.7 percentage points from a year ago, the state Department of Labor reported Tuesday.
The July jobless rate was the lowest for the month since 2001, when the rate was 3.7 percent. The rate was 4.6 percent in July 2017.
The unemployment rate has been trending down for some time, an indication that the region's economy is healthy, said Shital Patel, a labor-market analyst in the department's Hicksville office.
"Labor-market conditions on Long Island are strong," she said Tuesday. "Job growth remains strong, and our unemployment rate is near a record low level. So, things are pretty good here."
However, Patel said some jobs are going unfilled because applicants don't have the work skills employers want.
"Companies still want to hire," she said. "They are looking for people, but they just cannot find people with the right skills."
The number of employed Long Islanders rose last month by 5,300 to 1.469 million, year over year. That's the highest level for a July since the department began using its current system of measuring employment in 1990.
Janice McCarthy, from Long Island Temps, speaks with Marc Paverman, from Cold Springs Harbor, and his mother Jackie at " Talent Connection" Job Expo, for adults with special needs, at Farmingdale State College, June 8, 2018. Credit: Linda Rosier
The number of unemployed fell in July, year over year, by 10,500 to 59,300, the lowest level for the month in 28 years.
The jobless data released Tuesday follows last week's employment report for July, which revealed a slowdown in the pace of hiring compared with a year ago.
The Island had 12,500 more jobs last month than in July 2017. That number slowed from the 15,200 year-over-year job increase in June. And June's increase was revised lower from the department's 15,600 preliminary estimate.
The high for the year so far was posted in April, when the local employment market was growing at an annual rate of 18,500 jobs.
Ronald Torres, 27, from Dix Hills, fills out paperwork with Eric Altschuler from FREE at the " Talent Connection" Job Expo, for adults with special needs, at Farmingdale State College, June 8, 2018. Credit: Linda Rosier
Last month, Long Beach had the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2 percent; Hempstead Village had the highest, 4.6 percent.
Among the state’s metropolitan areas, Glens Falls had the lowest jobless rate, 3.5 percent, and Binghamton and Watertown had the highest rate, 4.8 percent.
New York City’s unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in July.
HIGHS AND LOWS OF JULY'S JOBLESS RATE
Highest: Hempstead Village, 4.6 percent (5.5 percent in July 2017)
Lowest: Long Beach, 3.2 percent (3.7 percent in July 2017)
Long Island, 3.9 percent (4.6 percent in July 2017)
SOURCE: NYS Department of Labor
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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