Long Island Unemployment Holds Steady At Record Low Levels

LONG ISLAND, NY — The unemployment rate on Long Island remained near historically low levels in June, holding steady a trend set in the spring.

The unemployment rate in June was 2.9 percent, according to the state Department of Labor, down two percent from the same time last year. It's up just slightly from the 2.7 percent unemployment the area had in April and May.

According to state data, there are 45,600 unemployed Long Islanders. While that number is big, it's 28,000 less than the same month last year.

Still, it's nowhere near the historic highs that were hit when shutdowns began in earnest for the COVID pandemic. In April 2020, unemployment on Long Island skyrocketed to an all-time high of 18.2 percent. That new record was more than double than the peak of the Great Recession that began in 2008.

Statewide, the unemployment rate for June was 4.4 percent, which is the same as it was in May. It is also much lower than the all-time high during the pandemic of 16.5 percent, which was set in May 2020. The state seems to once again be returning to pre-pandemic levels of unemployment: the statewide unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in Feb. 2020.

The hardest-hit area continues to be New York City, which has an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, which is 241,000 people without jobs. While it's still high, it's about half of the unemployment the city saw in June 2021.