Unemployment Dips as Labor Force Shrinks

Historically, the size of the labor force has always grown in Southampton Town from June to July, but in 2011, for the first time since at least 1990, it shrunk.

The total number of workers dipped from approximately 31,100 to 30,900 from month to month, according to labor department statistics. Last July, the labor pool was 31,700 strong. 

In July 2010 the number of employed was 29,600; it was 600 less this past July.

“Across the board the unemployment rate is falling as the pool of job seekers dries up,” said Jim Brown, a labor market analyst with the New York Department of Labor. “Sometimes this is a sign that a population is getting smaller. More commonly, what you are seeing is people giving up on job searches and making decisions to do other things, whether it’s retire, go back to school, or stay home and raise kids instead of working a second family job.”

Southampton’s unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent in July, down from 6.6 percent the same month in 2010 and 6.8 percent in 2009.  It was the lowest monthly rate Southampton has seen since November 2008. Suffolk County overall posted a rate of 7.4 percent for July 2011, and Long Island-wide, the rate was 7.1 percent. Because of the Hamptons' seasonal economy, the region typically has lower unemployment than the county as a whole in the summer months, and vice versa in the winter, and this past July was no exception.

With reporting by Joseph Pinciaro.