Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions remained in single-digit figures in April and were much lower compared to a year ago when the COVID-19 pandemic first exploded. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released May 25. In addition, the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, and […]
Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions remained in single-digit figures in April and were much lower compared to a year ago when the COVID-19 pandemic first exploded.
The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released May 25.
In addition, the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, and Binghamton regions gained jobs in five-digit figures in April from April 2020, when the pandemic hit the economy hard, resulting in thousands of job losses. Meanwhile, the Watertown–Fort Drum, Ithaca, and Elmira regions gained jobs in four-digit figures in the last year. That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued May 20.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area was 5.7 percent in April, down sharply from 17.3 percent in April 2020.
The Utica–Rome region’s rate dipped to 6 percent from 16.3 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s number fell to 5.8 percent from 18.2 percent; the Binghamton region posted 5.7 percent, down from 17.1 percent; the Ithaca area’s jobless rate declined to 4.2 percent from 11 percent; and the unemployment rate in the Elmira region was 6 percent in April, down from 17.8 percent in the same month a year ago.
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 8.2 percent in April, down from 8.4 percent in March and well below the 16.2 percent level hit in April 2020, according to the Department of Labor.
The state’s 8.2 percent unemployment rate was higher than the U.S. rate of 6.1 percent in April.
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.
April jobs data
The Syracuse region gained nearly 32,000 jobs in the past year, an increase of 12 percent.
The Utica–Rome metro area gained nearly 13,000 jobs, up 12 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region added 5,300 jobs, a 16 percent rise; the Binghamton region picked up more than 10,000 positions, a 12 percent pop; the Ithaca area gained 3,600 jobs, an increase of about 6 percent; and the Elmira region added more than 3,000 jobs in the past year, a jump of about 10 percent.
New York state as a whole gained more than 1 million jobs, an increase of 13 percent, in the past year. The state economy also gained more than 29,000 jobs, a 0.3 percent increase, between March and April of this year, the labor department said.