Hudson Valley Region Lost Nearly 75,000 Private Sector Jobs in 2020

ALBANY—The New York State Department of Labor reported on Jan. 21 that the number of private sector jobs in the Hudson Valley fell 74,800 or 9.2% over the year in December 2020.

Job losses were greatest in leisure and hospitality (-32,900), educational and health services (-10,900), professional and business services (-8,800), trade, transportation and utilities (-7,600), other services (-7,500), manufacturing (-3,700) and financial activities (-3,300).

The December 2020 over-the-year job losses continue to reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. At 741,700, private sector job count has reached its lowest December level since 2010. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc on the region’s leisure and hospitality sector. Year-over-year in December 2021, the sector declined by 36.2%—a record low for the month.

Within the Hudson Valley region, the Dutchess-Putnam MSA’s private employment sector declined the fastest year-over-year, down 10.0%. They were followed by the Orange-Rockland-Westchester labor market area (-9.4%), Sullivan County (-8.2%) and the Kingston MSA (-5.2%).

In terms of New York State’s employment climate, the New York State Department of Labor reported that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 8.2%, falling from 8.4% in November 2020, according to preliminary figures released on Jan. 21.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers also decreased over the month, by 20,200, from 764,500 to 744,300. This represents the fifth straight month of declining unemployment rates in New York State, bucking the national trend. The U.S. unemployment rate held steady between November and December 2020.

At the same time, the number of private sector jobs in New York State decreased over the month by 22,100, or 0.3%, to 7,354,300. By comparison, the number of private sector jobs in the U.S. decreased by 0.1% in December 2020.

In December 2020, the statewide unemployment rate decreased from 8.4% to 8.2%. New York City’s unemployment rate decreased over the month from 12.1% to 11.4%. Outside of New York City, the unemployment rate increased from 5.7% to 5.9%.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased over the month by 20,200, from 764,500 in November to 744,300 in December 2020.