Regional job picture mixed in the last year Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Ithaca, Binghamton, and Elmira regions rose in December compared to a year ago. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Jan. 28. On the job-growth side, the Syracuse, Watertown–Fort Drum, […]
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Regional job picture mixed in the last year
Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Ithaca, Binghamton, and Elmira regions rose in December compared to a year ago.
The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Jan. 28.
On the job-growth side, the Syracuse, Watertown–Fort Drum, and Ithaca areas gained jobs between December 2018 and this past December. Meanwhile, the Utica–Rome, Binghamton, and Elmira regions lost jobs in the same period.
That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued Jan. 23.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area was 4.4 percent in December, up from 4.2 percent a year earlier.
The Utica–Rome region’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent from 4.5 percent in the last year; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s rate jumped to 6.8 percent from 5.9 percent; the Binghamton region’s jobless rate ticked up to 4.8 percent from 4.4 percent; the Ithaca region posted a 3.2 percent rate, up from 3.1 percent; and the Elmira metro area had its jobless rate rise to 4.5 percent from 4.1 percent in the past 12 months.
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 was 4.0 percent in December, which was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.5 percent in the same month.
The December statewide unemployment figure of 4 percent was unchanged from November but up from 3.9 percent in December 2018, according to state Labor 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.
CNY December jobs data
The Syracuse region gained 3,400 jobs in the past year, a 1 percent increase.
The Utica–Rome metro area lost 100 jobs, a decrease of 0.1 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region gained 200 jobs, an increase of 0.5 percent; the Binghamton area shed 100 positions, a drop of 0.1 percent; the Ithaca region gained 2,200 jobs, an increase of 3.3 percent; and the Elmira area lost 300 jobs, a decrease of 0.8 percent.
New York state as a whole gained nearly 104,000 jobs, an increase of 1.1 percent, in that same 12-month period. However, the state economy lost nearly 5,000 jobs from November to December of 2019, the labor department said.