Jobless Rate Below 3% Across The Hudson Valley

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Unemployment rates across the Hudson Valley dropped even more in May, according to data the New York State Department of Labor released Wednesday.

New York State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 4.5 percent in April to 4.4 percent in May. The Hudson Valley outpaced the state as a whole.

Unemployment rate by county:

• Dutchess: 2.8 percent
• Orange: 3 percent
• Putnam: 2.7 percent
• Rockland: 2.6 percent
• Ulster: 2.8 percent
• Westchester: 3 percent

The strength of the region's job market mirrors the state of the economy nationally. The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits for the week ending June 4 was 1,312,000, the Associated Press reported. That figure has hovered near 50-year lows for months.

The number of people who were employed rose and the number of people who were unemployed dropped in every county in the region between May 2021 and May 2022.

The state's preliminary local area unemployment rates for May 2022 were calculated using methods prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.