Long Island's June Unemployment Was Second-Worst On Record

LONG ISLAND, NY — Long Island's unemployment numbers climbed in June, making it the second-worst month for workers in decades, according to data from New York State.

According to preliminary data from the state Department of Labor, unemployment on Long Island was 12.9 percent in June, up from 12.3 percent in May. That equates to 193,000 unemployed workers, according to state data. The closures caused by the coronavirus have caused a massive wave in unemployment — the rate was 3.4 percent last June.

The unemployment rate is worse than the Great Recession that began in 2008, when Long Island's unemployment topped out at 8.2 percent in early 2010.

The June unemployment numbers are still better than they were earlier this year. The worst month on Long Island was April, which brought 16.1 percent unemployment, or 229,300 people without jobs. It was the worst job loss on record. In March, before the closures began in earnest, unemployment was at 3.8 percent.

According to a detailed breakdown by the state, both Nassau and Suffolk counties are suffering similar levels of unemployment. In June, Nassau's unemployment rate was 13 percent and Suffolk's was 12.9 percent.

New York City was the hardest-hit area in the state, with an unemployment rate of 20.4 percent in June — the highest it's been since the pandemic began. According to state data, there are 812,400 people in the city out of work.

The unemployment rate state-wide for June was 15.6 percent, which is the highest ever. According to the state, there were 1,468,800 New Yorkers out of work in June — the largest number since records began to be kept in 1976.

According to the state, the unemployment numbers come from a survey of 18,000 businesses in New York, which does not include self-employed workers, agricultural workers, unpaid family workers and domestic workers employed by private households.