The Daily Freeman reports that February employment figures from the state department of Labor released March 23 show hiring in Greene and Columbia counties. Greene gained 400 nonfarm jobs, or 2.7 percent, in Feb. 2017 over the same month the year before. Columbia County gained 200 jobs, or 0.9 percent. The Dutchess-Putnam Metropolitan Division was the only are locally with bad numbers, as nonfarm jobs fell by 200, or 0.1 percent since the previous February. Ulster County added 600 nonfarm jobs, or a gain of one percent. Statewide, the unemployment rate in February 2017 was 4.4 percent, down from 4.6 percent in January, and down from 4.9 percent in February 2016. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.