Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions declined in October compared to a year ago. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Nov. 20. All the Central New York regions gained jobs between October 2017 and this past October, except for […]
Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions declined in October compared to a year ago.
The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Nov. 20.
All the Central New York regions gained jobs between October 2017 and this past October, except for the Elmira area, which lost positions in the period. That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued Nov. 15.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area was 3.5 percent in October, down from 4.7 percent in October 2017.
The Utica–Rome region’s unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent from 4.8 percent; in the Watertown–Fort Drum area, it declined to 4.1 percent from 5.6 percent; in Binghamton, the jobless rate sank to 3.8 percent from 4.9 percent; the Ithaca region’s rate slipped to 3.0 percent from 4.1 percent; and in the Elmira region, the jobless rate fell to 3.9 percent from 5.2 percent in the year-earlier period.
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 unemployment rate decreased from 4.1 percent in September to 4.0 percent in October, “matching its lowest level on record”, which was last reached in May 1988, according to preliminary figures from the state Labor Department. The October rate was well below the 4.7 percent reported a year ago.
The state’s jobless rate, however, was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.7 percent in October. 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.
October jobs data
The Syracuse region gained 3,600 jobs in the past year, a rise of 1.1 percent.
The Utica–Rome region gained 600 jobs, an increase of 0.5 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum area added 400 jobs, up 0.9 percent; the Ithaca region picked up 1,900 positions, an increase of 2.9 percent; the Elmira area lost 800 jobs, a decrease of 2.2 percent; and the Binghamton region gained 100 jobs in the past year, a rise of 0.1 percent, per the Department of Labor data.
New York state as a whole gained more than 123,000 jobs, an increase of 1.3 percent, in the last year. The state economy gained 22,000 jobs, a 0.2 percent increase, between September and October of this year, the labor department said.
