MONTICELLO – Driven in
part by the new casino and pending water park opening, there has been
a well-publicized surge in job opportunities in Sullivan County.
The county’s current labor force is at a six-year high but Workforce
Development Director Laura Quigley told the county legislature’s
Community and Economic Development Committee on Thursday there is a key
difference between now and 2011.
“The last time we had 34,800 in our labor force was back in 2011
but when you look inside those numbers, very different,” Quigley
said. “The number of unemployed were over, was 3,600 as opposed
to 1,200.”
Quigley put a positive spin on that current 1,200, or 5.9 percent unemployment
rate, flat for the past two months, saying that measures the number of
people actively looking for work.
Those looking for work will have opportunities at upcoming job fairs,
including one Quigley said they are organizing for April 24th.
SUNY Sullivan is hosting one next Monday, April 9, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
in the deHoyos Gallery adjacent to the Grover Hermann Memorial Library
on campus.
Also bearing good news was Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development
President and CEO, Marc Baez, who said he’s getting lots of phone
calls.
That included two from what Baez described as major financial houses offering
possible packages. And there were other calls.
“We got two calls directly from companies. They’re actually
not using a broker, not using a website. Calls directly to the office
based on the news, based on the website and things like that.”
Baez said that’s something new; they weren’t getting those
calls in the past.
Sullivan is also working with its neighbors, including Orange County,
expecting a Legoland to open by 2020. Baez said they are joining Orange
in the push for a third lane on Route 17, from Harriman to Exit 104, the
west exit for Monticello off the future Interstate-86.
