Slight Rise in North Hempstead Unemployment

Unemployment in both Nassau County and the Town of North Hempstead increased slightly  in November, according to statistics released Thursday by the state Department of Labor.

The Town unemployment rate for the month was 6.2 percent, up from 6.1 percent in October. It was also 6.1 percent in November 2009. There were 7,049 North Hempstead residents without jobs last month, compared to 6,955 in October, and 6,959 this time last year.

In Nassau, the unemployment rate rose to 7 percent, up from 6.8 percent in October and 6.7 percent in November 2009. There were 48,175 unemployed Nassau County residents in November, up from 46,994 in October, and 46,150 a year ago.

Despite the increased unemployment rate, Gary Huth, Long Island's labor market analyst for the New York State Department of Labor, said the job market could be bouncing back.

"The good news is the job count stayed positive from a year ago," Huth said. "The momentum has been weaker than we'd like to see, but it's still positive."

Huth said the increase in unemployment was likely because of weak hiring in the retail sector. 

But business services, manufacturing, financial services and professional services were all picking up, Huth said. The biggest year-over-year gain was in state government and education, where jobs jumped 13.2 percent. Also in the last year, broadcasting (non-Internet) was up 6.2 percent and educational services moved up 3.5 percent.

Also up more than expected: The construction industry, which increased by 3.4 percent.

As for Port Washington, small businesses do not appear to be hiring en masse.

"They're still struggling from what I've heard," said Bobbie Polay, president of the . 

"At the moment, there are no immediate staffing increases planned. We do expect to add jobs in the second half of 2011," said Cathy Williams-Owen, president of DriMark, a Port Washington-based manufacturer of  writing instruments, security marking systems and patented inks. 

In the last month has hired two people to replace staffers who left, said Hal Linden, the general manager. The eatery tends to trim staff in the winter, and then hire again in spring "if business picks up," Linden said.

Meanwhile, Huth expects job opportunities to increase. Temp hiring, he noted, is up – a positive indicator. As businesses grow, "they tend to hire temp workers first and move them from temp to perm."

"There can be ups and downs," Huth pointed out. "There may be some bumps, but the momentum definitely seems to be moving forward."