Unemployment Rates Improve in Glen Cove

Unemployment rates dropped in Glen Cove from 6.6 to 6.5 in October—a move which differs from local and county trends which have not changed, according to the New York State Department of Labor report released on Thursday.

This rate dropped .4 percent since this time last year when the local jobless rate was 6.2 percent, according to the New York State Department of Labor.

The economic progress in Glen Cove has been drastic since January when the unemployment rate peaked at 9.5 percent.

"Unemployment is based on where the person resides," said Gary Huth, Long Island economist for the state Department of Labor.

Long Island's unemployment rate was 6.9 percent last month and remains the same in October, down from 7 percent the month before and 7.3 percent last year. 

While the local economy isn't growing by leaps and bounds, Huth said the region is on the road to a slow but steady recovery.

"The overall report is pretty positive," Huth said. "The numbers track fairly closely to the national data. We're doing better than the national economy. It's slow but improving. There does appear to be some degree of certainty of the viability of recovery. But the speed of the recovery is a little slower that we'd like to see." 

From this time last year, Huth reports a significant improvement in the job market.

"There are 10,900 more jobs on Long Island than there were in October 2009. We are growing at a rate of 1.1 percent a year. It's not gangbusters, certainly, but it's significantly better than it was earlier," Huth said. "But, the unemployment rate held steady."

While Nassau's unemployment hasn't changed since August, the rate is down .4 percentage points from this time last year, dropping from 7.2 percent to 6.8 percent.

Mary Stanco, President of the Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce views the state of the economy as a national issue: "Glen Cove is not to be held at a diffent standard from the rest of the country. The small improvements in the ecomony have not trickled down to the local level," she said. 

While each week, there are , one local couple has made it their priority to match people to freelance and hourly work.

Glen Cove residents Brooke and Lynn Dixon's website hour.ly—an employment network for individuals seeking work by the hour—is a means of helping both employers find workers and workers find employers. 

"You have to be proactive when searching for a job," said Lynn. "A person who gets paid by the hour does not have hours to waste."