LI Unemployment Ticks Up In October As Coronavirus Cases Increase

LONG ISLAND, NY — Long Island's unemployment rate ticked up slightly in October, although it is still much lower than at the height of the pandemic shutdowns in the spring, according to data just released by the state Department of Labor.

According to the DOL, the unemployment rate for October was 6.5 percent on Long Island, which was up slightly from September's 6.3 percent. That equates to 93,000 people unemployed on Long Island. September was the lowest unemployment rate on the Island since the pandemic-related shutdowns began in the spring.

On the county level, the numbers are similar. Nassau's unemployment rate for October was 6.7 percent, which was slightly worse than Suffolk's 6.3 percent.

The closures caused by the coronavirus have caused a massive spike in the state's unemployment. Last October, the unemployment rate was 3.4 percent.

The unemployment rate has finally reached a place where it is lower than the Great Recession that began in 2008, when Long Island's unemployment topped out at 8.2 percent in early 2010.

The worst month on Long Island was April, which brought 16.1 percent unemployment, or 229,300 people without jobs. It was the worst job loss on record. In March, before the closures began in earnest, unemployment was at 3.8 percent. July was the second-highest month of unemployment ever.

New York City is still the hardest-hit area in the state, with an unemployment rate of 13.1 percent in October — which is 501,800 people out of work. That's down from the June high point of 20.4 percent.

Statewide, the unemployment rate in September was 9.2 percent, which equates to 834,000 people out of work.

According to the state, the unemployment numbers come from a survey of 18,000 businesses in New York, which does not include self-employed workers, agricultural workers, unpaid family workers and domestic workers employed by private households.