Politics & Government

Huntington Unemployment Up Slightly In June

Report lists 6,700 Huntington residents as unemployed last month.

Job seekers on Long Island had a tougher go at landing employment in June, the first month since July 2010 without a net increase in private sector jobs.

Long Island lost 1,400 jobs over the past year, according to the most recent New York State Department of Labor findings.

In every sector, “we’ve either gained jobs at a slower rate or lost jobs at a faster rate,” said Michael Crowell, senior economist for New York State Department of Labor.

Find out what's happening in Huntingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Construction, however, could eventually see gains if big development projects get the green light and if property owners embrace a new way to finance energy-saving improvements, Crowell noted.

Unemployment in both Suffolk County and the Town of Huntington increased slightly in June, according to recent Labor Department statistics, the latest of which were released on Tuesday.

Find out what's happening in Huntingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Still, this most recent report shows that fewer people are looking for work now than a year ago.

In Huntington, the unemployment rate for June was 6.4 percent, up from 6.1 percent a month ago. It was 6.6 percent in June 2010. There were 6,700 Huntington residents listed as unemployed last month, compared to 6,300 in May and 7,000 a year ago.

In Suffolk, the unemployment rate increased to 7.3 percent in June, up from 6.9 percent in May. It was at 7.2 percent in June 2010.  There were 57,200 Suffolk County residents listed as unemployed in June, up from 53,800 in May and 57,800 a year ago.

Among the sectors that saw growth: educational and health services; trade, transportation and utilities; and professional and business services. Other sectors – manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, information, financial and construction – did not fare as well.

“It’s quite discouraging that the economy is taking so long to turn around,” Crowell said.

Still, Crowell saw a glimmer of hope: job loss in manufacturing remained flat, and job loss in construction actually declined for the first time since October 2008. 


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