CNY region unemployment rates rose in January

Each region gained jobs in past 12 months   Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Binghamton, Watertown–Fort Drum, Ithaca, and Elmira regions all rose in January compared to the year-ago month. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released on March 14. However, the same six Central New […]

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Each region gained jobs in past 12 months  

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Binghamton, Watertown–Fort Drum, Ithaca, and Elmira regions all rose in January compared to the year-ago month.

The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released on March 14.

However, the same six Central New York subregions gained jobs between January 2022 and this past January, with job growth ranging from 0.3 percent to 5.2 percent. That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued on March 9.

Regional unemployment rates

The jobless rate in the Syracuse area was 4.2 percent in January, up from 4.0 percent in January 2022. Elsewhere around Central New York, the Utica–Rome area’s unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent from 4.4 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region’s jobless number climbed to 5.4 percent from 4.9 percent; the Binghamton area’s rate edged up to 4.6 percent from 4.5 percent; the Ithaca region’s jobless number rose to 3.5 percent from 3.1 percent a year ago; and the Elmira area’s unemployment rate increased to 4.4 percent in January 2023 from 4.1 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.

January jobs data

The Syracuse region gained 9,300 jobs in the past year, an increase of 3.1 percent.

Elsewhere, the Utica–Rome metro area picked up 2,700 positions, a rise of 2.3 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region gained 600 jobs, an increase of 1.5 percent; the Binghamton metro area added 2,400 jobs, a rise of 2.5 percent; the Ithaca region gained 3,000 positions, an increase of 5.2 percent; and the Elmira metro area added 100 jobs in the past year, an increase of 0.3 percent.

New York state as a whole added nearly 342,000 jobs, an increase of 3.7 percent, in that 12-month time period.        

Eric Reinhardt: