The Daily Freeman is reporting the employment rate in the Mid-Hudson Valley and Catskills region was higher last month than one year ago. The report issued Mar. 7, by the New York State Department of Labor showed the Columbia County nonfarm job total in January was 21,200, a gain of 500, or 2.4 percent, from a year earlier. The Greene County total rose by 600, and impressive 3.9 percent, to 15,900. In Ulster County, the nonfarm job total increased by 1,700, or 2.8 percent, during the same period, to reach a total of 62,100. Sullivan county led the region in new nonfarm jobs, with the addition of 2,100 positions in January, a leap of 7.9 percent. Nonfarm employment includes all positions in the private and public sectors, with the exception of agricultural jobs. The Resorts World Catskills casino opened in February 2018 in the town of Thompson, and Sullivan County has led the region's employment gains ever since. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.