UNEMPLOYMENT SPIKES THROUGHOUT HUDSON VALLEY by Ken Mahoney

UNEMPLOYMENT SPIKES THROUGHOUT HUDSON VALLEY

What a difference one year can make. That’s the essence of some troubling data out of New York’s Labor Department, which places Rockland’s unemployment rate more than an entire percentage point higher than this time last year. Stats show the number of jobless county residents rose to 4.9% this past June, up from 3.8%. Similar spikes have been registered in the adjacent counties of Westchester and Putnam. Sullivan County is experiencing the highest unemployment rate in the state at 6.2%. Some labor analysts say these statistics indicate the region is that much closer to a recession while others argue we’re already there.