Each month, the Department of Labor (DOL) releases labor market information for NYS and the local regions. Here you will find the most up-to-date labor market information for the Hudson Valley, and more specifically, Rockland County.
In November 2020, New York State’s unemployment rate decreased from 9.2% to 8.4%. The comparable rate for the U.S. was 6.7% in November 2020.
Hudson Valley Region:
The November 2020 unemployment rate for the Orange-Rockland-Westchester Region is 5.6 percent. That is down from 6.5 percent September 2020 and up from 3.6 percent in November 2019. In November 2020, there were 44,400 unemployed in the region, down from 71,900 in September 2020 and up from 29,700 in November 2019.
In November 2020, the highest unemployment rate within the region (5.8 percent) was recorded in both Sullivan and Westchester Counties.
- Putnam County 4.8 percent
- Ulster County 5.0 percent
- Dutchess County 5.0 percent
- Rockland County 5.3 percent
- Orange County 5.4 percent
- Sullivan County 5.8 percent
- Westchester County 5.8 percent
Rockland County Unemployment Rates:
| November 2020 | 5.3% |
| September 2020 | 6.5% |
| November 2019 | 3.4% |
While the unemployment rate is still higher than last year, we are finally starting to see a downturn in the number of people unemployed. With businesses being able to resume services, more job opportunities are becoming available right in our own community.
Transportation and warehousing had the highest level of job growth with 2,000 job openings. Employers such as AMAZON are moving into the region, with warehouses in Orange and Rockland County, sparking an increase of job openings.
Education, healthcare, and social services have also seen an increase in job growth with 3,100 job openings in the month of September 2020.
Lastly, hospitality is still has many openings, with 2,200 available jobs for the month of September 2020.
