Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome,Watertown Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions all declined in June compared to a year ago, but only half of these six Central New York areas gained jobs in the period.
The Syracuse, Watertown–Fort Drum, and Ithaca regions gained jobs between June 2017 and this past June. However, the Utica–Rome, Binghamton, and Elmira areas shed positions in the same period.
That’s according to the latest monthly jobs data and unemployment rate reports that the New York State Department of Labor issued on July 19 and 24.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area fell to 4.4 percent in June from 5.0 percent in June 2017, the unemployment rate in the Utica–Rome region slipped to 4.5 percent from 4.9 percent, and the jobless rate in the Watertown–Fort Drum area declined to 4.8 percent from 5.5 percent in the same period.
The unemployment rate in the Binghamton region decreased to 4.8 percent in June from 5.5 percent in June 2017, the jobless rate in the Ithaca area fell to 4.2 percent from 5.0 percent, and the unemployment rate in the Elmira region dipped to 4.9 percent from 5.4 percent in the same 12-month timeframe.
Elmira’s 4.9 percent jobless rate was the highest among New York state’s metro areas in June, while the 3.8 percent unemployment rates in the Glens Falls and Nassau-Suffolk regions were the lowest.
The local unemployment-rate data isn’t seasonally adjusted, meaning the figures don’t reflect seasonal influences such as holiday hires.
The jobless rates are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state Labor Department said.
June jobs numbers
The Ithaca region led all Central New York and New York state metro areas with 3.2 percent total job growth in the last year. The region picked up 2,000 positions between June 2017 and this past June.
The Syracuse area gained 3,200 jobs in the past year, a 1 percent gain, and the Watertown–Fort Drum region gained 300 jobs, an increase of 0.7 percent, in the same period.
Among the regions shedding jobs in the past 12 months, the Utica–Rome metro area lost 400 jobs (a decline of 0.3 percent), the Binghamton region shed 300 positions (a 0.3 percent fall), and the Elmira area lost 400 jobs (a 1.1 percent decrease).
New York state as a whole gained more than 133,000 jobs, an increase of 1.4 percent, in the last year. The state economy gained more than 15,000 jobs, a 0.2 percent rise, in the past month, the labor department said.
