Fewer jobless but fewer in workforce on LI
Nancy Zukowski of Medford, laid off in 2008, has sought retraining twice for a new career but has had no luck yet. The number of unemployed and employed both declined locally in January. (March 13, 2012) Credit: Danielle Finkelstein
Long Island's unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in January, unchanged from a year ago, the state Labor Department reported Tuesday.
The jobless-rate report comes after the department's data last week showed that in January Long Island had its strongest growth in employment in five years. And revised data for 2011 showed the Island gaining jobs every month, rather than losing jobs for most of the year as initial data had showed.
The unemployment report, which is based on a different survey, had a less clear direction. It showed a decline in the number of unemployed people on Long Island and in the number of employed as well. The Island had 112,700 unemployed workers in January, down from 113,900 a year earlier. The number of employed fell to 1.335 million from 1.338 million.
Shital Patel, a job-market analyst based in the department's Hicksville office, said the reasons for both drops won't be definitive until more data from the 2010 Census become available. But she said the reasons could include more retirees, more people moving away and more discouraged workers, who aren't counted in unemployment data because they aren't looking for work.
Unemployment data, which are based on a household survey sample, give a broader picture of the job market. Whereas the employment report reflects just the estimated number of jobs on local companies' payrolls, the household survey tracks the employment status of residents and includes the self-employed, unpaid family workers and agricultural and domestic workers.
Patel stressed that the Island's unemployment is "quite low" compared with the rates of the state and nation. The United States had an 8.8 percent jobless rate in January, while New York's was 9.2 percent, both not on a seasonally adjusted basis, as are the local data.
Long Island's unemployment-data revisions showed slight changes from original numbers.
Nancy Zukowski of Medford hasn't had much luck in getting back to work after being laid off in 2008 from her 15-year job as a health-insurance claims adjuster. She trained for a job in health-care management. With no luck there, she got a certificate in paralegal studies but has remained unlucky.
"I have found that many places are able to get unpaid interns to do work that would normally have been done by paralegals," she said.
