Job count in region fell sharply in January

Employment totals in almost all Mid-Hudson Valley counties dropped sharply in the first month of 2021 as coronavirus cases spiked locally and across the state and nation.

Ulster County had 54,500 nonfarm jobs at the end of January, down from 59,000 a month earlier and a sharp 9.6% below the 60,300 recorded in January 2020, before the virus outbreak began in the U.S., the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The Dutchess-Putnam Metropolitan Division, which comprises those two counties, finished January with 132,200 nonfarm jobs, down from 136,600 at the end of December and 9.2% lower than the January 2020 tally of 145,600, the labor office said.

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

Greene and Columbia counties turned in a mixed month-to-month performance from December to January, the labor department said. Greene County’s nonfarm total rose from 14,000 to 14,500, while Columbia’s dropped from 20,400 to 19,200. The January 2020 totals in the two counties were 15,200 in Greene and 20,900 in Columbia.

In the private sector alone, Ulster County had 4,900 fewer jobs in January 2020 than a year earlier, a steep drop of 10.6%, while the Dutchess-Putnam area’s year-over-year total fell by 11,800, or a 9.9%.

No county in New York state had more nonfarm jobs in January 2021 than in January 2020. The smallest drop was 2.2% in Schuyler County, in the Finger Lakes. New York City suffered the state’s largest year-over-year drop, 13.7%.

Statewide, nonfarm employment fell from 8.87 million in December to 8.58 million in January. The January 2020 state total was 9.65 million.

The state unemployment rate in January was 8.8%, up a tick from 8.7% in December and sharply higher than the January 2020 rate of 3.8%.