Signs of recovery: LI adds thousands of jobs

Long Island had 10,900 more private-sector jobs in October than it did in October 2009, marking the biggest increase this year and the seventh consecutive month that the local economy has added such jobs.

The State Labor Department also said Thursday that the economy performed better in the September period than first reported. Long Island had 8,300 more private-sector jobs in September than in September 2009, a revision of the 5,600 originally reported.

"It's more assurance and confirmation that the recovery is real," said Gary Huth, the department's principal economist for the Island.

Leading the way for job gains were sectors involving health services, trade and - for a change - construction.

Things are looking better for Teresa Nankervis of Center Moriches, who in September found work after being unemployed for 10 months. Nankervis, 44, estimates that she had sent out more than 180 applications and resumes by the time a friend told her about a job at a construction contracting company, where she now works.

"I never thought it would take this long," Nankervis said. "It was depressing and discouraging."

While the private sector has added jobs since April, that growth has been stemmed by sustained government-job cutbacks since July, especially in local education. That sector had 5,200 fewer jobs in October, the biggest loss of any of the categories.

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Local economists reason that the public-sector education category is showing job declines during the school year because some laid-off teachers and administrators may have recently exhausted their unused paid time off and are only now considered laid off. Some schools may have waited until October to finalize some of their staffing needs.

And economists see the cuts continuing. "Government jobs will still be a drag on the economy," said Pearl Kamer, chief economist for the Long Island Association. "The school districts are facing severe fiscal constraints."

The public-sector losses pushed down total nonfarm employment, which comprises the private and public sectors, to an increase of 5,700 jobs. Private-sector employment is considered the stronger measure of a region's economic health.

Some of the latest private-sector job increases may reflect both increased hiring for the holiday season and general hiring. Adecco, the staffing company in Melville, has seen increased demand not only for traditional holiday jobs in retail, but also in manufacturing and sales, said Dana Terzian, a direct-placement recruiter.

"I think there is more confidence in the marketplace right now," she said.

Still, the economy shows other signs that it is still digging out of deep hole. The unemployment rate, for example, remained unchanged at 6.9 percent in October, matching the September rate. Three years ago, before the recession started, the rate had fallen to as low as 3.3 percent, considered full employment. New York State's unemployment rate was 8 percent in October, unchanged from September.

Carla Quatraro-D'arcy, 35, of Babylon, is still feeling the weight of that high unemployment. She lost her six-figure job more than two years ago as a product developer at a Manhattan fashion-accessories company. Except for a temporary data-entry job that ran from November to April, she has been unemployed, despite sending out an average of 30 applications and resumes a week.

"I am applying for whatever I think I can do, whether it be clerical . . . or child care," she said. "I am open to reinventing myself."