Unemployment Deepening Slightly In Towns of North Hempstead and Hempstead

The unemployment numbers released Thursday by the New York State Department of Labor are up slightly in both the and the .

The Town of North Hempstead had a 6.2 percent unemployment rate in November with 7,049 people out of work. This is up from the 6.1 percent unemployment rate the town had both in October and last November.

The Town of Hempstead's unemployment rate for November was 7.3 percent with 28,436 people out of work. In October, that percentage was 7.1 percent and it was 7.0 percent last November.

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."

The increase in unemployment was likely because of weak hiring in the retail sector, Huth said. But business services, manufacturing, financial services and professional services were all picking up, he added.

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.

Meanwhile, Huth expects job opportunities to increase. Temp hiring, he noted, is up, which is 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."

This move forward can be seen in companies such as , which is hiring. Owner Peter Caputo said he's looking to hire 10 sales representatives that will be a mix of people who work full-time, part-time and virtually.