New jobless claims in Hudson Valley rise 650 percent

The combined Putnam and Dutchess unemployment rate in June was 11.4 percent, compared to 3.6 percent in June 2019, the state Department of Labor said on July 21.

The unemployment rate was 11.5 percent in Dutchess and 11.2 percent in Putnam.

Statewide, the rate is 15.6 percent. New York has lost about 1.4 million private-sector jobs in the past year, the agency said.

In Dutchess, 18,300 people received unemployment benefits in June, totaling $26.6 million in payments. So far this year, 23,500 people have received benefits of $79.8 million.

In Putnam, 5,900 people received benefits worth $9.3 million in June, and 7,800 received benefits totaling $28.9 million for the year.

The number of claims in the Hudson Valley region during the week ending July 18 was nearly 650 percent higher than those made in the same week in 2019, the agency said, second only to the 754 percent increase for New York City. More than 7,000 people in the Hudson Valley made new claims during the week ending July 18, compared to 1,100 during the same week last year.

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