The unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions were all lower in July compared to the same month in 2024. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) unemployment data released on Aug. 19. Regional unemployment rates The jobless rate in the Syracuse […]
The unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions were all lower in July compared to the same month in 2024.
The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) unemployment data released on Aug. 19.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area declined to 3.7 percent in July 2025 from 3.9 percent in the prior July.
Around the region, the Utica–Rome region’s unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent from 4.0 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s number dipped to 4.1 percent from 4.3 percent; the Binghamton region’s rate edged down to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent; the Ithaca area’s jobless number hit 3.6 percent, down from 3.8 percent; and the unemployment rate in the Elmira region fell to 3.7 percent in July from 4.0 percent in the same month in 2024.
The local unemployment data isn’t seasonally adjusted, meaning the figures don’t reflect seasonal influences such as holiday hires. The unemployment rates are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state Labor Department said.
State unemployment rate
New York state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held constant at 4.0 percent in July 2025, compared to June 2025, according to preliminary figures that NYSDOL released.
New York’s July unemployment rate was lower than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.2 percent in the same month.
The July statewide unemployment figure of 4.0 percent was down from the 4.4 percent figure reported in July 2024, according to department figures.
The federal government calculates New York’s unemployment rate partly based upon the results of a monthly telephone survey of 3,100 state households that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts.
