The county’s running job losses hit a new recent high in October as employers shed 35,100 workers versus a year earlier, according to the state’s Employment Development Department.
The county’s unemployment rate was 6% last month, up from 4.2% a year earlier.
For the past few months, the county’s job losses have ranged between 25,000 and 30,000 on a yearly basis.
October’s unemployment rate and 35,100 job losses,a 2.3% decline to 1.48 million workers,are at levels not seen since the early 1990s.
The last time the unemployment rate was this high was 1994 when it hit 6.3%, according to Ann Marshall, a consultant for the Employment Development Department.
In early 1991, employers here shed 40,000 jobs in one month versus a year earlier, she said.
While construction has driven most of the county’s job losses in 2008, financial and professional services led October’s decline as the financial crisis and larger economic downturn spurred layoffs.
The two sectors made up 21,200 of the lost jobs last month.
Construction was the next biggest decliner at 5,500 jobs.
On a monthly basis, educators returning to work after summer led a 2,200 increase in jobs from September to October.
They helped offset monthly drops in construction and leisure and hospitality jobs from September to October.
The county has been losing jobs on a yearly basis each month since last November.
Before October, the biggest recent yearly loss came in July when employers shed 29,900 workers.
