Huntington Town Unemployment Rate Down Slightly

The unemployment rate in the Town of Huntington remains one of the lowest in Suffolk County as the town's rate for October sat at 6.2 percent, according to statistics from the New York State Department of Labor. The October rate is down 0.1 percent from September and down 0.3 percent from October 2009.

Countywide, the unemployment rate continued its roller coaster ride for the year and now sits at 7.0 percent for October, up 0.1 percent from September. In February, the county's unemployment rate was at its high-water mark of 8.3 percent and has been as low as 6.8 percent in April, May and June.

Gary Huth, Long Island Economist with the New York State Department of Labor, said that the overall unemployment picture is fairly positive. "The numbers track fairly closely to the national data," he said. "We're doing better than the national economy. It's slow but improving. There does appear to be some degree of certainty of the viability of recovery. But the speed of the recovery is a little slower than we'd like to see." 

He added, "There are 10,900 more jobs on Long Island than there were in October 2009. We are growing at a rate of 1.1 percent a year. It's not gangbusters, certainly, but it's significantly better than it was earlier."

When looking at specific job sectors, Huth said that typically this time of year there is an increase in hiring in the retail trade as companies look to gear up for the holiday shopping season. While that sector remains unchanged for now, he said there has been a big jump in employment in the wholesale trade.

He noted one area where there appears to be a lag in hiring is financial services, which is down 1,500 jobs compared to a year ago. But the recent announcement that should help with job creation locally, Huth added.

Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, for New York and every other state are based on statistical regression models specified by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.