Hudson Valley Region’s Jobless Rate Falls to 5.3%

ALBANY—The Hudson Valley region continues to show signs of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The unemployment rate for the Hudson Valley region fell from 6% in March to 5.3% in April, according to figures released by the New York State Department of Labor.

April 2021’s unemployment rate was down significantly from a year earlier during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and mandated shutdowns when the Hudson Valley region’s jobless rate stood at 15.7%.

The Hudson Valley region’s April 2021 unemployment rate was ranked second lowest among the 10 Labor Market Regions in New York State, trailing only the Capital Region (5.0%). Other region’s unemployment rates were: Long Island 5.4%, Southern Tier 5.4%, Finger Lakes 5.6%, Central New York 5.7%, North Country 5.8%, Mohawk Valley 6.0%, Western New York 6.2% and New York City 10.8%.

In April 2021, the lowest unemployment rate within the Hudson Valley region was recorded in Putnam County at 4.8%.

Hudson Valley Unemployment Rates
April 2021

Putnam County 4.8%
Rockland County 5.0%
Dutchess County 5.1%
Orange County 5.3%
Ulster County 5.3%
Westchester County 5.6%
Sullivan County 5.8%

The unemployment rate for the Bronx in April was the highest in the state at 15.0%. The unemployment rate in New York County (Manhattan) was 8.3% in April.

In terms of metro areas, the Dutchess-Putnam metropolitan division was tied for second lowest statewide with Albany-Schenectady-Troy at 5.0%. The Orange-Rockland-Westchester area’s unemployment rate in April tied for fifth lowest with Nassau-Suffolk at 5.4%. New York City came in last among local metros ith a 10.8% jobless rate.

Last week, the New York State Department of Labor reported the number of private sector jobs in New York State increased over the month by 28,100, or 0.4%, to 7,445,200 in April 2021. By comparison, the number of private sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 0.2% in April 2021.

New York State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 8.4% to 8.2% in April 2021.