Community Corner

Slight Decrease in North Hempstead Unemployment

The town jobless rate hit 6 percent in December.

Unemployment in both Nassau County and the Town of North Hempstead dipped slightly  in December, according to statistics that were released by the New York State Department of Labor on Thursday.

In the Town of North Hempstead, the unemployment rate for December 2010 was 6.0 percent, down from 6.1 percent in November. It was also 6.0 percent in December 2009. There were 6,780 North Hempstead residents without jobs last month, compared to 7,009 in November, and 6,762 this time last year.

In Nassau, the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent in December 2010, down from 6.9 percent in November.  It was also at 6.7 percent in December in December 2009.  There were 45,903 unemployed Nassau County residents in December, down from 47,895 in November, and 46,103 a year ago.

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Long Island is faring better than elsewhere in the region.

"The data lists the local unemployment rate at 7 percent, the state rate at 8 percent, and the national rate at 9.1 percent," said Michael Crowell, senior economist for New York State Department of Labor.

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"The bright light is education and health services. Long Island added 6,500 jobs over the year," he noted. Many of those jobs, he said, were in hospitals and doctors offices.

Still, not all health services providers are hiring. Just ask Zelik Ziegelbaum, RPT, who owns , a provider of physical and occupational therapy. 

“As the economy improves, so will the job market in the field of physical therapy," Ziegelbaum said."I personally do not see any changes in the labor market. New health-care regulations imposed by the government as well as the decline in reimbursement fees for services rendered does not encourage growth in private practices.” 

Elsewhere in Port Washington, Dominic Commisso, an owner of  He doesn’t expect to hire any additional full-time staff.

“We’re maxed out, “ he said. “We don’t have the room.” 

“In our first year of business, plenty of people came asking for jobs,” he added, referring to those who were ready to make a move.

An industry veteran, Commisso said salons are getting a lot of new people who were laid off in the corporate world looking to work in the cosmetolology field. But salons hiring front desk, office or marketing staff may not be able to pay the $15 to $25 an hour salary that former corporate people might expect. However, trained cosmetologists who are entrepreneurial and work hard can "build an empire in this field," Commisso said. “There’s no ceiling.”

The Labor Department found that "Other Services," a category that includes temp agency hiring, increased by 5.8 percent.

"It's been growing quite strong in recent months." Crowell noted, adding that companies hiring temporary employees is usually a sign that employers are testing the water with regards to adding staff. 

 "Things are getting better but not very fast," Crowell  said.


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