Unemployment Dips in Southampton in March

The unemployment rate in Southampton fell in March compared to the same month last year, the first time in five months that the New York State Labor Department’s monthly local labor force report had good news for the town.

Unemployment dipped 0.2 percent to 9.3 percent from year to year in Southampton. The rate is higher than Long Island’s 7.1 percent unemployment rate for March, but an improvement nonetheless.

"Long Island and the broader downstate economy has been settling in at a fairly decent job growth rate, which should continue to push the unemployment rate down," said Jim Brown, a labor market analyst with the New York State Department of Labor. "Though that depends on how many people start looking for jobs," he added.

The rate in Suffolk County was 7.5 percent in March, while neighboring Nassau County had the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the state in March, just 6.6 percent.

New York State is faring better than the United States as a whole. The state unemployment rate was 8.0 percent in March, and country-wide rate was 9.2 percent.

“Year over year, we’ve seen significant gains in health care, social services sector, and wholesale/resale trade,” Brown said. “Health care is usually a steady performer that serves the needs of the local population.”

In the lead up to the summer, the East End will gain more jobs in leisure and hospitality, he said.