Slight Rise in Rockville Centre Unemployment

Long Islanders continued to have a tough go at landing employment in August, with the region seeing job losses for the fourth straight month.

At the same time, fewer people were listed as unemployed, according to recent Labor Department statistics, the latest of which were released Tuesday.

Michael Crowell, an economist with the Labor Department in Hicksville, explained what the two reports might mean for Long Island.

The jobs data solely focuses on “jobs on Long Island,” nowhere else, Crowell noted. Yet the unemployment report is affected by Long Islanders who may have found work elsewhere, including New York City, Westchester and Connecticut. Additionally, the unemployment report may also represent “discouraged workers who don’t have jobs and aren’t actively seeking jobs,” he said.

Unemployment in both Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead fell in August.

In Rockville Centre, the unemployment rate for August was 5.6 percent, up from 5.5 percent a month ago. It was 5.7 percent in August 2010. There were approximately 700 Rockville Centre residents listed as unemployed last month, compared to about the slightly less in July, and 700 a year ago.

In Nassau, the unemployment rate decreased to 6.5 percent in August, down from 6.8 percent in July. It was at 7 percent in August 2010. There were 44,400 Nassau County residents listed as unemployed in August, down from 46,700 in July, and 49,000 a year ago.

Meanwhile, Long Island saw 13,000 fewer non-farm jobs in August than a year ago.  Some of those losses, however, were driven by the , where nearly 18 percent of Long Island’s information workers were sidelined. Other hard hit sectors include leisure and hospitality, financial activities, manufacturing and construction. Government jobs also fell.

Still, there were some bright spots, including professional and business services, health services and wholesale trade, all of which added jobs.

In Nassau County, for instance, North Shore-LIJ Health Systems is looking to fill a number of positions, including nurses, therapists, IT specialists and more.

Yet recent patterns show that Long Island still has a way to go towards economic recovery.

As Crowell pointed out, after the recession in 2009, the region added jobs steadily in 2010. Looking at the reverse in trend, he said, “Now, we’ve been losing jobs at a faster rate.”