Dutchess County’s private sector job growth increased 2.7% in November and 3% in December of last year.

According to the New York State Department of Labor, the Dutchess-Putnam MSA’s private sector job growth rate rose to 3% in December 2017, ranking above the growth rates of the Hudson Valley Region (1.4%), New York State (1.4%) and the United States (1.7%), respectively. Dutchess County also outperformed the month prior, when the November 2017 Dutchess-Putnam MSA private sector job growth rate totaled 2.7%, a number well above the growth rates of the Hudson Valley Region (1.6%), New York State (1.4%) and United States (1.7%) overall. In 2017, Dutchess County also tied with Putnam County for the lowest unemployment rate of all seven counties in the Hudson Valley, with both counties coming in at 4.3% unemployment in November and 4.1% unemployment in December, respectively. A longtime home to global corporations like IBM and Gap, as well as emerging hub for startups and small businesses, Dutchess County is well-positioned for further growth in the 2018. Think Dutchess Alliance for Business has already supported several current investments in the county, including National Resources’ redevelopment of a former IBM campus into the $300 million iPark City, East Fishkill’s new $25 million Sports Kingdome and the $510 million expansion of Vassar Brother Medical Center―the largest construction project in Poughkeepsie to date. Source: New York State Department of Labor