LI jobless rate drops for 2nd month in a row

Long Island?s unemployment rate dropped for the second month in a row in April, according to the latest numbers, but experts warn the numbers may be deceiving. In April, 6.7 percent of Long Island residents

News 12 Staff

May 22, 2009, 12:27 AM

Updated 5,595 days ago

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Long Island?s unemployment rate dropped for the second month in a row in April, according to the latest numbers, but experts warn the numbers may be deceiving.
In April, 6.7 percent of Long Island residents were unemployed, down one-half percent from March?s rate of 7.2 percent. However, the New York State Department of Labor?s Gary Huth says employment typically picks up as the summer approaches and more seasonable jobs become available.
"We lost 32,800 jobs compared to a year ago that's the widest job loss since the downturn started,? Huth says. He says it?s still a very troubling situation.
Long Island?s unemployment rate first started to increase in October 2008 and peaked at 7.5 percent in February.