Huntington, Suffolk Unemployment on the Rise

The Town of Huntington's unemployment rate rose .2 percent in November from October and is up from 6.3 percent in 2009 to 6.4 percent in 2010, according to a report released by the State Department of Labor. 

"The unemployment rate did go up. It's hard to identify the cause of that. The most likely culprit is the weak hiring in retail trade, and people going in to look for those jobs and not being able to find them. Most of the other indicators look more positive," Gary Huth, labor market analyst for the Department of Labor on Long Island, said.

According to Gary Zelamsky, president of Executive Alliance, a Huntington  employment agency, there are more jobs available this year than last.

"Relative to last year there has been an increase in jobs, but it is still slow, as it is still a difficult economy, but things have picked up from last year which was the low point."

Suffolk County's rate also increased, to 7.4 percent in November from 7.0 percent in October. This is also up from 2009, when it was at 7.1 percent in October.

New York State's unemployment also rose in November to 8.2 percent from 8.0 percent in October. In 2009, the rate for unemployment in November was 8.5 percent, so it has decreased from a year ago.

And while there's weakness in retail trade, "the numbers can be revised upward and downward," Huth said. "I'm not reading this as a real solid sign that the improvement in the economy has stalled. It's not a terrible number, but it's weaker than we'd like to see."

In general, numbers around the Commack area have increased. Smithtown's unemployment rate increased to 6.3 percent from 6.2 percent in October. Nassau County's numbers have also increased, to 7.0 percent from 6.8 percent in October. 

"At this point my outlook is there can be ups and downs. My level of confidence has risen that we're on a track forward. There may be some bumps but the momentum definitely seems to be moving forward," Huth said. 

contributed reporting to this article.