Rockland Jobless Rate Steady

Unemployment rates in Rockland and Westchester counties are too high to put the counties back on the state’s list of lowest unemployment rates.

Neither made the state’s list of counties with the lowest unemployment rates in August, according to preliminary data released by the state Labor Department; whereas they both had been on that list in May.

Things are still better than last year. The Orange-Rockland-Westchester market had a 4.5 percent unemployment rate in August, the Labor Department said. In August 2014, the unemployment rate for Orange-Rockland-Westchester and Dutchess-Putnam counties was 5.2 percent.

Unemployment rate highlights in August 2015: The counties in New York State with the lowest unemployment rates include:

• • Columbia County (3.6%)
  • Hamilton County (3.6%)
  • Saratoga County (3.9%)
  • Tompkins County (4.1%)
  • Yates County (4.1%)
  • Genesee County (4.2%)
  • Ontario County (4.2%)
  • Putnam County (4.2%)
  • Albany County (4.3%)
  • Nassau County (4.3%)
  • Washington County (4.3%)
  
  

Compare that to the data for July 2015:

• • Hamilton County (4.0%)
  • Columbia County (4.1%)
  • Saratoga County (4.3%)
  • Genesee County (4.7%)
  • Nassau County (4.7%)
  • New York County (4.7%)
  • Ontario County (4.7%)
  • Tompkins County (4.7%)
  • Washington County (4.7%)
  • Yates County (4.7%)
  
  

June 2015:

• • Columbia County (3.9%)
  • Saratoga County (4.1%)
  • Nassau County (4.3%)
  • Putnam County (4.4%)
  • Genesee County (4.5%)
  • Hamilton County (4.5%)
  • Washington County (4.5%)
  • Albany County (4.6%)
  • Ontario County (4.6%)
  • Rensselaer County (4.6%)
  • Suffolk County (4.6%)
  • Tompkins County (4.6%)
  • Westchester County (4.6%)
  • Yates County (4.6%)
  
  

And for May 2015:

• • Columbia County (3.9%)
  • Saratoga County (4.1%)
  • Tompkins County (4.1%)
  • Nassau County (4.3%)
  • Putnam County (4.3%)
  • Albany County (4.4%)
  • Rensselaer County (4.5%)
  • Ontario County (4.6%)
  • Rockland County (4.6%)
  • Suffolk County (4.6%)
  • Westchester County (4.6%)