Long Island Unemployment At Lowest Level Since Pandemic Began

LONG ISLAND, NY — Long Island's unemployment rate in November was the lowest it's been since the coronavirus pandemic began. The unemployment in the state hit record highs earlier this year as shutdowns from the pandemic forced hundreds of thousands of people out of work.

According to preliminary data from the state Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for Long Island in November was 5.4 percent, down from 6.3 percent in October. An unemployment rate of 5.4 percent equates to 77,300 people unemployed on Long Island.

Nassau and Suffolk counties had similar levels of unemployment. Nassau's was 5.5 percent and Suffolk's was 5.3.

As recovering from the coronavirus pandemic continues, unemployment continues to fall. In April — the worst month — unemployment on Long Island reached 16.1 percent, or 229,300 people without jobs. But the current rate is still well above November 2019, when unemployment was at 3.4 percent for Long Island. In March, before the closures began in earnest, unemployment was at 3.8 percent. July was the second-highest month of unemployment ever at 13.8 percent.

October was the first month this year when Long Island's unemployment was finally lower than the Great Recession that began in 2008, when it topped out at 8.2 percent in early 2010, according to statistics from the Department of Labor.

New York City is still the hardest-hit area in the state, with an unemployment rate of 11.8 percent in November — which is 454,000 people out of work. That's down from the June high point of 20.4 percent.

Statewide, the unemployment rate in November was 8.1 percent, which equates to 737,700 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.