Unemployment Increases in Town of Oyster Bay

November numbers released by the state Department of Labor show a slight increase in unemployment year-over-year for the Town of Oyster Bay. 

The data revealed a 6.6 percent unemployment rate for the Town of Oyster Bay in  November 2010 --  a total of about 10,300 unemployed. This is up from 6.3 percent in November 2009, which saw a total of 9,800 unemployed. 

"I'm not surprised," said  owner Jennifer Messina. "I've been looking at help wanted ads in the paper and I can see it went down to two pages from 12."  

Nassau County as a whole displayed similar numbers. For November 2010 a 7.0 percent unemployment rate -- up from the 2009 6.7 percent rate. Approximately 2,000 jobs were lost in that time. 

"It's still very bad," Messina said of the economy. "Nobody can afford anything."

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."

Huth said the increase in unemployment was likely because of weak hiring in the retail sector. 

But business services, manufacturing, financial services and professional services were all picking up, Huth said. 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.

But on one street in Syosset -- Cold Spring Road -- a number of stores have remained empty dating back since the spring, according to Messina. 

"The parking situation here - it's hard to get spots. It's a tough spot," she said. "Those stores have been empty for a while."