Unemployment rate in the Kingston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes the entirety of Ulster County, remains below the state rate and has continued to improve since the pandemic. Concurrently, however, the County’s labor force has decreased slightly since 2018, very likely a result of out-migration as well as from retirements as people age and chronically unemployed workers permanently dropping out of the labor force. As described by the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) in their monthly labor profile for the Hudson Valley, for the 12-month period ending in January 2025, private sector employment in the Hudson Valley increased by 15,200 or 1.9 percent, to 819,000.

In 2024 the DOL published its Significant Industries report for the Hudson Valley, providing a description of “priority industries” on which local workforce investment boards should concentrate their workforce development resources. Significant industries identified for the Hudson Valley are listed here:

• Accommodation and food service
• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Transportation and warehousing
• Information
• Professional and business services
• Educational services
• Health care
• Arts, amusement, and recreation

The top employment sectors in Ulster County include Health Care and Social Services, Retail Trade, Accommodation and Food Services, Educational Services, and Public Administration. The sectors showing the most notable gains in total employment share over time include Educational Services and Manufacturing. Many of these industries are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic as shown in Figure 3.9 as the 2018 levels are often higher than 2023. However, industries such as Accommodation and Food Services are expected to continue to recover beyond pre-pandemic levels.

Of the top employers in Ulster County reported in 2020, the majority are concentrated in the greater Kingston area, but the county’s two largest employers – SUNY New Paltz and Mohonk Mountain House – are located in the greater New Paltz area and together create approximately 3,700 jobs. By comparison, 37 large employers in the Kingston area in 2020 accounted for nearly 10,000 total jobs, while the Ellenville area reports only three firms or organizations that employ 200 people or more. When reviewed by industry classification, the areas of Health Care, Public Administration, Education, Accommodation & Food Services, and Retail account for 81% of the county’s top employers, or just over 16,000 employees.