The New York State Department of Labor announced the highest unemployment rate on Long Island in more than a decade Thursday.

According to the statistics, November?s unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, the highest it's been since 1993. That percentage is up from 4.9 percent in October and 3.7 percent this time in 2007.

?We're seeing pretty much a deterioration in the job market across the board,? labor market analyst Gary Huth says. ?The only sectors that are still up compared to a year ago are education and health services."

Huth says Long Island employers have slashed more than 7,000 jobs this year and that fewer retailers are hiring seasonal employees.

"My two kids are struggling right now with accepting the fact that I don't have money coming into the house,? says laid off project manager James Smith, of Mineola. ?It's tough."

Smith says all he?s wishing for this Christmas is a job.