LI job growth has slowed as the unemployed await promised $300 aid boost
Long Island reported anemic job growth last month as jobless residents and New Yorkers across the state waited anxiously for a boost of $300 in weekly unemployment payments to hit their bank accounts in the coming days.
In August, Long Island was still down 152,200 jobs from a year earlier, the state Labor Department reported Thursday, with a gain of 7,500 nonfarm jobs on a month-to-month basis. The monthly gain is well below the 17,800 jobs gained in July, and the pace of growth has slowed since the 78,000 new jobs reported in June.
“The overall pace of job growth on Long Island slowed,” said Shital Patel, labor market analyst in the Labor Department’s Hicksville office. “The large gains in jobs in May, June, and July reflect the phased reopening of the economy.”
Patel said that the slower job growth in August is likely due to businesses relying on smaller