Labor data shows LI job growth slowdown
Workers put finishing touches on homes at Meadowbrook Pointe Links and Spa in Medford. (May 19, 2011) Credit: James Carbone
Long Island's job growth, which had quickened in recent months, has slowed significantly, according to data the state Labor Department released yesterday afternoon.
The Island had just 3,400 more jobs in April than it had in April 2010. The private sector expanded by 6,200 more jobs, but a loss of 2,800 government jobs cut overall employment gains to an anemic 3,400. That contrasts with March data that showed an 8,000-job gain, compared with a year earlier.
"To have such modest growth on Long Island when the nation is two years into an economic recovery shows a very weak labor market on Long Island," said Pearl Kamer, chief economist for the Long Island Association.
The biggest gainer in April was educational and health services, which had 5,800 more jobs. It's the only sector that added jobs throughout the recession, but the category's high proportion of lower-wage jobs has worried local economists.
By contrast, the construction industry, one of the higher-paying sectors on Long Island, showed the greatest deterioration in the April period, with a decline of 4,900 jobs.
Mitchell Pally, chief executive of the Long Island Builders Institute in Islandia, said the slowdown in public works projects due to state and federal funding cutbacks, delayed approvals for large-scale local commercial developments and little residential building have hurt the industry.
"When you have significant negatives in all three, you are going to see a significant reduction in construction activity and a significant reduction in employment," Pally said.
Michael Dubb, president of home builder Beechwood Organization in Jericho, said high foreclosure rates have choked off housing demand. But he said niche housing such as his Meadowbrook Pointe Links & Spa, a new Medford development of semiattached homes, has done well because it offers a country-club lifestyle with amenities that include spas and game rooms.
"This type of community has continued to do fairly well," Dubb said.
The latest report has at least one bright spot.
The financial-activities sector, which includes finances and real estate and pays the highest wages on the Island, continues to eke out growth after a nearly four-year drought. It had 100 more jobs in April than the year before. And the original March number, which indicated no growth, showed 100 more jobs on revision.
It's the second time since April 2007 that the category has expanded, said Michael Crowell, senior economist in the labor department's Hicksville office.
On Tuesday the agency will release April local jobless data.
Biggest gainers and losers
Biggest gainers and losers in LI's employment market during the past 12 months:
