A look at the area unemployment-rate picture

Unemployment rates fell across Central New York’s metropolitan areas in November, signaling an improving job market, the New York State Department of Labor reported Dec. 24

The Syracuse metro area’s jobless rate slipped to 6.7 percent in November from 7 percent in October and 7.8 percent in November 2012.

In the Binghamton region, the unemployment rate declined to 7.1 percent in November from 7.3 percent in October and 8.1 percent in the year-ago period.

The Utica–Rome metro area posted a jobless rate of 6.9 percent in November, down from 7.2 percent in October and 8.2 percent in November 2012.

The Ithaca area (Tompkins County) registered a 4.4 percent unemployment rate in November, the lowest in the state. It was down from 4.8 percent in October and 5.3 percent in the year-ago period.

The local unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted, according to the state Labor Department. 

New York state’s jobless rate, when seasonally adjusted, was 7.4 percent in November, down from 7.7 percent in October and 8.2 percent in November 2012, the department reported on Dec. 19.

The state’s unemployment rate, when not seasonally adjusted, came in at 6.9 percent in November, compared to 7.5 percent in the previous month and 7.9 percent in the year-earlier period, according to the figures the state Labor Department reported.

County unemployment rates

Jefferson County, at 9 percent, had the second highest unemployment rate in the state in November, behind only Bronx County (11.2 percent). 

Oswego, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Hamilton, and Franklin counties also posted jobless rates exceeding 8 percent in November. That continues a trend of elevated unemployment rates in Northern New York, relative to the rest of Upstate.            

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com