Riverhead Shows Lowest May Unemployment Rate Since 2009

Riverhead's unemployment rate dropped to its lowest rate in the month of May since the spring of 2008, a trend Suffolk County and New York State both saw as well.

The jobless rate in town dropped to 6.9 percent, down from 7.2 percent both in 2009 and 2010. Before the downturn hit in the fall of 2009, Riverhead's unemployment rate in May 2008 stood at 4.5 percent.

"Basically the same thing is happening there that seems to be happening at the regional level," said Michael Crowell, senior economist for the New York State Department of Labor. "Unemployment is down for the year, but still above the normal."

Riverhead, which depends heavily on the tourist economy as the mercury rises, is following the county in increasing tourism jobs in 2011.

"One thing that we have noticed is that often there seems to be a growth in local tourism in bad times," Crowell added. "Long Island is a relatively affluent place. A lot of people spend their vacations in Europe or other parts of the States. If times are bad, sort of conversely, they end up staying here so you see the local leisure and hospitality number go up."

Suffolk County's overall unemployment rate over the past three years exactly mirrored Riverhead's. New York State has 7.8 percent of its labor force jobless, as opposed to 8.3 and 8.1 percent in 2009 and 2010.