Unemployment increases in region

ALBANY – Unemployment across the Mid-Hudson/Catskill region in November is up compared to the same month last year.
Labor Department analyst John Nelson said the uptick is nothing to worry about. The regional unemployment rate in the Hudson Valley in November is 4.5 percent, up from 4.1 percent in November 2016.
“What we should continue to focus on is the fact that they are still historically close to the low levels in 1999,” Nelson said.
In November 2017, there were 51,500 people unemployed in the region, up from 45,200 in November 2016.
The Labor Department Wednesday reported that Columbia County, with 3.6 percent unemployment, had the second lowest rate in the state: Queens County, with a rate of 3.5 percent, was ranked lowest. Columbia County rose from 3.5 percent one year earlier.
Dutchess and Putnam counties each ranked ninth in the state with 4.3 percent unemployment. One year earlier, the Dutchess rate of joblessness was 3.9 percent and Putnam County’s was 3.8 percent.
Rockland and Ulster counties, each with 4.5 percent unemployment, were ranked 14th statewide. Rockland County’s jobless rate rose from 4.0 percent one year earlier. Ulster County’s rate rose from 4.1 percent one year earlier.
Westchester and Orange counties, each ranked 17 statewide, had a rate of 4.6 percent. Both counties were up from 4.1 percent in November 2016.
Sullivan County, ranked 33rd in the state, has a November joblessness rate of 5.2 percent, up from 4.6 percent one year earlier.
Greene County, ranked 38th in the state, had an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, up from 4.8 percent in November 2016.