Long Island Job Loss “Alarming”

Long Island is suffering from “alarming” job losses, which will be compounded by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s projected 300,000 job losses in New York City over the next two years, according to ecperts.

“This is a big hit on the economy,” said Martin Melkonian of Hofstra University. “It’s pretty grim on Long Island because we’re very connected to New York City.”

Given December’s job loss rate, the number of job losses alone on Long Island could reach 50,000 for 2009 if unemployment keeps its current pace, according to Pearl M. Kamer, chief economist for the Long Island Association. She said the current rate was “alarming” and higher than the 20,000 to 35,000 job losses she had expected among Long Island’s 1.28 million workers.

This would still leave Long Island’s unemployment rate lower than the national average. But the Island’s rate could hit 6.8 percent by year’s end.

About 20 percent of Islanders travel to parts of the city, she said, but they provide 30 percent to 35 percent of income in Long Island.

Long Island’s economy fell into a recession in October, several months after the city’s economic indicators had already reached recession levels. The Island will have a “shallower” recession because it’s not as directly tied into Wall Street, but may not see signs of a turnaround until late this year at best, according to the state Department of Labor.