Employment stagnant in much of region
The Mid-Hudson region’s metropolitan areas experienced moderate job growth during the 12-month period ending Oct. 31, but the numbers were less rosy in the area’s rural counties, according to data released by Thursday by the state Department of Labor.
The state-designated Kingston Metro Area, which is all of Ulster County, added 1,000 nonfarm jobs from October 2015 to October 2016, a gain of 1.6 percent, to reach a total of 63,200, the department said.
The Dutchess-Putnam Metropolitan Division, which includes all of those two counties, added 1,800 non-farm jobs, or 1.2 percent, to reach an October 2016 total of 149,100, according to the labor office.
Nonfarm jobs include all private-sector and government jobs, excluding jobs in agriculture.
Elsewhere in the region during the October-to-October period:
• Greene County lost 200 nonfarm jobs, a drop of 1.3 percent, to close out at 14,800.
• Columbia County’s nonfarm job total was unchanged at 22,000.
• Delaware County’s nonfarm job total also was unchanged, at 15,600.
• Sullivan County gained 300 nonfarm jobs, or 1.2 percent, to reach 26,100.
• The Orange-RocklandWestchester Metropolitan Division added 7,400 nonfarm jobs, or 1 percent, to reach 716,500.
In the private sector alone, Ulster County added 1,200 positions, a 2.5 percent gain, from October 2015 to October 2016, the state labor office said.
That was the second-best percentage gain in the state during the 12-month span, behind the Ithaca area at 3.8 percent.
The Dutchess-Putnam Metropolitan Region added 1,700 private-sector jobs, or 1.4 percent, while the Orange-Rockland-Westchester Metropolitan Division gained 7,100 private-sector jobs, or 1.2 percent.
The state does not provide private-sector jobs data for rural counties.
The state as a whole had a 1 percent gain in nonfarm employment and a 1.1 percent gain in private-sector jobs during the October-toOctober, but it lost jobs in both categories from Septemberto October 2016. The nonfarm jobs drop for the one-month period was 6,400; the private-sector decline was 4,000.
The statewide unemployment rate last month was 5.2 percent, up slightly from the 5 percent rate in September and 4.9 percent rate in October 2015.
