The past year has been great for the Lower Hudson Valley. This is because they have seen an increase in over 8,000 jobs in the past year; such an incredible number for smaller area on the map. The private sector is making a comeback with 468,200 jobs in September alone. These numbers are in regards to the area of Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties located in Lower Hudson Valley. These numbers indicate that this is “giving the three-county region the third-highest growth rate in the state, according to new data from the state Labor Department.”

The recession hit this area hard in 2008, which were four long years ago. In 2009 alone this area lost almost 30,000 jobs. That is a very large number of job losses for just a few counties located in Lower Hudson Valley.

“The (job) market has continued to show signs of a turnaround. It’s continuously improving,” said Nelson, noting this time last year employment was off by 0.1 percent.” (information from Johny Nelson, the state Labor Department’s regional analyst for the Hudson Valley.)”

Health care has been a large reason for the big growth spurt in jobs in the Lower Hudson Valley. The hospitality market was generous while giving this section of the country over 3,700 jobs. Social services were also a big reason for the job growth giving the LHV (combined with Health) over 3,500 jobs. These are excellent numbers and the area hopes to see continues growth.

A few other increases in jobs were found in the following; ”Employment services, including temporary employment agencies, saw a 6 percent rise in employment to 5,200. Telecommunications, utilities and retail trade, including grocery stores, also showed solid gains, with employment rising more than 2 percent in each of those sectors.”

Overall, there has been an increase in most jobs in the Lower Hudson Valley. However, some areas have seen a decrease in areas like electronics and computer services. Manufacturing was also hit hard this year and saw a major decline in open job positions.

Where does Lower Hudson Valley stand this month? “The state’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 8 percent for September. County rates will be released next week.” The residents of Lower Hudson Valley are anxious to see if the rates have remained steady or are still declining. It is great to live in a place that is showing such a positive change in unemployment rates. News like this is rare and hard to come by.

Some people have chosen to ignore the areas that are suffering and focus on the positive news in the Lower Hudson Valley. Being below the national average in unemployment is something to be really proud of and this area will stand with pride.