Employment gains solid in most counties

Year-over-year job totals were up in almost all of the region last month, according to state labor department.

Employment totals rose in all area counties except one last month, with Sullivan again the leader as its nearly 2-year-old casino continued to be an economic engine.

Even though the parent company of Resorts World Catskills has been suffering financially, the mere presence of the casino has helped the county build its job base.

Sullivan County’s nonfarm employment total surged by 8.6 percent from October 2018 to October 2019, according to data provided Thursday by the state Department of Labor. Sullivan had 31,500 nonfarm jobs in October 2019, up from 29,000 a year earlier, the labor office said.

Nonfarm employment includes all positions in the private and public sectors, with the exception of those in agriculture.

In Ulster County, the nonfarm job total rose by 800, or 1.2 percent, in the October-to-October span to reach a total of 65,600, according to the labor statistics. The Dutchess-Putnam Metropolitan Division, which comprises all of both counties, gained 1,500 nonfarm jobs, an increase of 1 percent, during the same period to reach a total of 151,600.

Columbia County’s nonfarm job total in October 2019 was 22,600, a gain of 300, or 1.3 percent, from a year earlier. Greene County’s total last month was 15,400, a gain of 0.7 percent from the October 2018 total of 15,300.

Elsewhere in the region from October 2018 to October 2019, the labor office said:

• The Orange-Rockland-Westchester Metropolitan Division added 6,200 nonfarm jobs, or 0.9 percent, to finish the period at 732,000.

• Delaware County’s nonfarm job total was unchanged at 16,000.

In the private sector alone from October 2019 October 2019, the department said:

• Ulster County added 800 jobs, or 1.6 percent. That was the third-highest percentage gain among the state’s 15 metropolitan areas. (The Ithaca area was tops, at 3.3 percent.)

• The Dutchess-Putnam Metropolitan Division gained 1,500 jobs, or 1.2 percent.

• The Orange-Rockland-Westchester Metropolitan Division gained 5,600 jobs, or 0.9 percent.

The statewide unemployment rate in October was 4 percent, compared to the 3.9 percent rate of a month earlier and the 3.8 percent rate of October 2018.