Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions declined in August compared to a year ago. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Sept. 25. The Syracuse, Ithaca, and Utica–Rome areas gained jobs between August 2017 and this past August. The Elmira […]
Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions declined in August compared to a year ago.
The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Sept. 25.
The Syracuse, Ithaca, and Utica–Rome areas gained jobs between August 2017 and this past August.
The Elmira region lost jobs while the Watertown–Fort Drum and Binghamton areas were unchanged in the same period.
That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the state Department of Labor issued Sept. 20.
State unemployment rate
New York state’s unemployment rate decreased from 4.3 percent in July to 4.2 percent in August, “its lowest level since January 2007,” the state Labor Department said. The rate was down from 4.7 percent in August 2017.
In addition, the number of unemployed New Yorkers fell in August, from 419,500 to 408,900, reaching “its lowest level since February 2007.”
The state unemployment rate was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.9 percent in August.
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.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area fell to 4.1 percent in August from 5 percent a year ago. In Utica–Rome, it dipped to 4.1 percent from 5.0 percent, and in the Watertown–Fort Drum area, the rate fell to 4.6 percent from 5.6 percent.
The unemployment rate in the Binghamton region was 4.6 percent in August, down from 5.3 percent in August 2017. In Ithaca, it fell to 3.7 percent from 4.6 percent, and in the Elmira region the rate dipped to 4.5 percent from 5.4 percent in the same 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.
August jobs data
The Syracuse region gained 3,400 jobs in the past year, a 1.1 percent rise. Ithaca picked up 2,600 positions, a 4.2 percent gain, and Utica–Rome added 400 jobs, a 0.3 percent increase.
The Elmira region lost 500 jobs between August 2017 and this past August, a decrease of 1.4 percent. Both the Binghamton and Watertown–Fort Drum regions had no job gains or losses in the past year.
New York state as a whole gained nearly 124,000 jobs, an increase of 1.3 percent, in that 12-month period. The state economy added 9,400 jobs, a 0.1 percent rise, between July and August, the labor department said.
