Unemployment rates were mixed in the latest month

The Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, and Ithaca regions all gained jobs between January 2024 and this past January, while the Elmira area saw no change in jobs in the same period.

That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) issued on March 13.

The Syracuse region gained 6,500 jobs in the past year, an increase of 2.1 percent.

Elsewhere, the Utica–Rome metro area added 300 jobs, a rise of 0.2 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region picked up 1,000 positions, an increase of 2.5 percent; the Binghamton area gained 100 jobs, an uptick of 0.1 percent; the Ithaca region added 1,000 positions, a jump of 2 percent; and the Elmira metro area neither gained nor lost jobs in the past year.

New York state as a whole added 182,600 jobs, an increase of 1.9 percent, in that 12-month period. The state economy also gained more than 20,000 jobs, or a 0.2 percent rise, between December 2024 and January 2025, the NYSDOL said.

Among industries, professional & business services added 18,400 jobs statewide, an increase of 1.3 percent, in the period between January 2024 and January 2025; government jobs increased by 27,200 positions, or 1.9 percent; and private education & health services jobs rose by 104,500, or 4.6 percent.

Jobless rates

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Watertown–Fort Drum, and Ithaca regions fell in January compared to a year earlier.

However, the jobless rates in the Utica–Rome, Binghamton, and Elmira regions rose in January 2025 compared to January 2024. The figures are part of the latest NYSDOL data released on March 18.

The jobless rate in the Syracuse area fell to 4.2 percent in January from 4.3 percent in January 2024.

Around the region, the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s unemployment rate dipped to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent; and the Ithaca region’s jobless number hit 3.4 percent, down from 3.6 percent. The Utica–Rome metro area’s rate climbed to 4.6 percent from 4.5 percent; the Binghamton region’s unemployment number rose to 4.8 percent from 4.7 percent; and the Elmira area’s jobless rate reached 4.4 percent, up from 4.2 percent in the same month a year earlier.

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.

The January statewide unemployment figure of 4.4 percent was higher compared to the 4.2 percent rate reported in January 2024, according to department statistics.

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.