Long Island Unemployment Begins To Drop As Economy Recovers

LONG ISLAND — Long Island's unemployment numbers fell in August as the economy slowly continued its recovery from the coronavirus shutdowns. But the percentage of people out of work in the area is still among the highest it's ever been.

According to preliminary data released by the state Department of Labor, the unemployment rate on Long Island was 10.5 percent. That equates to about 159,500 thousand people out of work, according to state data. But that's still the lowest it's been since the coronavirus shutdowns began in earnest in April and peaked at 16.1 percent.

The closures caused by the coronavirus have caused a massive spike in the state's unemployment. Last August, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent.

The unemployment rate is worse 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. June was the second-highest month of unemployment ever, until the numbers for July were released.

According to a detailed breakdown by the state, both Nassau and Suffolk counties are suffering similar levels of unemployment. In August, Nassau's unemployment rate was 10.7 percent and Suffolk's was 10.4 percent. Those come out to very different numbers of people out of work, though: 77,500 in Nassau and 82,100 in Suffolk.

New York City is still the hardest-hit area in the state, with an unemployment rate of 16.3 percent in August — which is 648,700 people out of work. That's down from the June high point of 20.4 percent.

Statewide, the unemployment rate in August was 12.6 percent, which equates to 1,200,100 people out of work. But that's nearly 350,000 people less than in July, when the state hit the highest unemployment rate on record.

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.