Central New York jobless rates continue to fall in March

Regional job growth was mixed in past year 

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions continued to decline in March compared to the year-ago period.

The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released April 19.

On the job-growth front, the Elmira, Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, and Binghamton regions generated job increases ranging from 2.1 percent to 3.5 percent between March 2021 and this past March. Meanwhile, the Ithaca area lost jobs in the past year. 

That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued on April 14.

Regional jobless rates

The unemployment rate in the Syracuse area fell to 3.9 percent in March from 6.2 percent in March 2021.

Around the region, the Utica–Rome area’s rate declined to 4.2 percent from 6.6 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region posted a 4.8 percent rate, down from 6.7 percent; the Binghamton area’s number declined to 4.2 percent from 6.4 percent; the Ithaca region’s rate hit 2.7 percent, down from 4.2 percent; and the jobless rate in the Elmira area was 4.2 percent in March, down from 6.5 percent in the same month a year prior.

The local-unemployment 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.

March jobs data

The Syracuse region gained 6,500 jobs in the past year, an increase of 2.2 percent.

Elsewhere, the Utica–Rome metro area picked up 3,000 positions in the last 12 months, a rise of 2.5 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region added 1,200 jobs, an increase of 3.1 percent; the Binghamton area gained 3,300 jobs, up 3.5 percent; and the Elmira region gained 700 jobs, an increase of 2.1 percent. Conversely, the Ithaca area lost 900 jobs in the last year, a decrease of 1.5 percent.

New York state as a whole gained more than 465,000 jobs, a rise of 5.3 percent in that 12-month period.