RVC Sees Jump in Unemployment Rate

The Village of Rockville Centre followed suit with Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead, posting an increase in unemployment in November, according to statistics released Thursday by the state Department of Labor.

The jobless rate rose to 6.1 percent, up from 5.8 percent the month before, with 779 residents unemployed out of 12,857 in the civilian workforce.

Chamber of Commerce president Larry Siegel said that even though new stores have opened in the village, Rockville Centre is still suffering. "The occupancy rate is up, but remember, these mom and pop stores are not hiring," he said. "The people that are skilled that live in the village are looking for higher paying jobs."

The town unemployment rate for the month was 7.3 percent, up from 7.1 percent in October. It was also 7 percent in November 2009. There were 28,436 Town of Hempstead residents without jobs last month, compared to 27,804 in October and 27,132 this time last year.

In Nassau, the unemployment rate rose to 7 percent, up from 6.8 percent in October and 6.7 percent in November 2009. There were 48,175 unemployed Nassau County residents in November, up from 46,994 in October and 46,150 a year ago.

Despite the increased unemployment rate, Gary Huth, Long Island's labor market analyst for the New York State Department of Labor, said the job market could be bouncing back.

"The good news is the job count stayed positive from a year ago," Huth said. "The momentum has been weaker than we'd like to see, but it's still positive."

Huth said the increase in unemployment was likely because of weak hiring in the retail sector. 

But business services, manufacturing, financial services and professional services were all picking up, Huth explained. The biggest year-over-year gain was in state government and education, where jobs jumped 13.2 percent. Also in the last year, broadcasting (non-Internet) was up 6.2 percent and educational services moved up 3.5 percent.

Also up more than expected: the construction industry, which increased by 3.4 percent.

Huth also noted that temporary hiring is up – a positive indicator. As businesses grow, "they tend to hire temp workers first and move them from temp to perm."

"There can be ups and downs," Huth pointed out. "There may be some bumps, but the momentum definitely seems to be moving forward."