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| The residential work force in Rockland continues to maintain an emphasis towards office/store type employment and away from factory job employment. (Office/store type refers to professional, technical, managerial, sales and clerical jobs and factory type refers to laborers, operatives and craftsmen.) In both 1990 and 2000, office/store jobs represented 70% of the total Rockland residential work force, while factory type jobs decreased from 18% in of the total in 1990 to 15% of the total in 2000. The work force in service type jobs saw the largest increase, from 12% of the total in 1990 to 15% of the total in 2000. Data on journey-to-work patterns have shown that about 55% of Rockland’s residential work force commutes to jobs within the County while the remaining 45% commute to jobs mostly concentrated in New York City, Northern New Jersey and Westchester. The 135,000 person residential work force in Rockland has stayed strong and consistent with a 66% labor force participation rate and a 2.4% unemployment rate according to the 2000 Census. | Industry within Rockland County has evolved over decades into a focus on Services and Wholesale and Retail Trade. In 2000, the service industry accounted for 32% of the employment within Rockland County, while the wholesale and retail trade industry accounted for 23% of the employment within Rockland County. Data on journey-to-work patterns have shown that about 73% of the work force within Rockland County is filled by Rockland County residents, while the remaining 27% of the work force comes mostly from Orange County, Northern New Jersey and New York City. Rockland’s median household income in 1999 was $67,971, 3rd highest among all counties in New York State. Rockland’s median family income in 1999 was $78,806, 4th highest among all counties in New York State. Rockland’s per capita income in 1999 was $28,082, which ranked 5th highest among all counties in New York State. The above average income earned by local residents helps sustain the network of commerce and Industry in the County. The premier locations for retail sales are the Palisades Mall, opened in 1998, and the Nanuet Mall, opened in 1969. And there are other prospering shopping and business centers in the Rockland area, many of them situated on or close to major traffic arteries, a total of ? centers with 3.5 million sq. ft. of retail trade activity. |
Large shopping centers can be found on Route 59 at Airmont, Monsey, Nanuet, and West Nyack, on Route 202 in Mt. Ivy, on Route 9W in West Haverstraw, and in hamlet areas such as Hillcrest, New City and Pearl River. Villages such as Haverstraw, Nyack, Spring Valley and Suffern have their own business areas, although not as large in size and more specialized in content. Industrial firms in Rockland provide a wide scale of product and services to local and distant markets including apparel, chemicals, electronic equipment, machinery, fabricated metals, food, furniture, leather, paper, rubber, stone, and transportation goods. The largest employers in Rockland County are New York State, Rockland County, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Good Samaritan Hospital, Nyack Hospital, Verizon Wireless, Northern Services Group, Helen Hayes Hospital, A & T Healthcare, and Orange and Rockland Utilities. It should be noted that many of the firms within Rockland County have fewer than 50 employees and an increasing number are located in new industrial and industrial/office parks. As of 1992, approximately five million square feet of office space were in existence. |