Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions continued to improve compared to a year ago as the Central New York regions’ job markets rebound from the worst effects of the pandemic. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Dec. 21. In addition, […]
Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions continued to improve compared to a year ago as the Central New York regions’ job markets rebound from the worst effects of the pandemic.
The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Dec. 21.
In addition, the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions all gained jobs between November 2020 and this past November, ranging from 0.7 percent growth to 5.4 percent growth.
That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued Dec. 16.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area fell to 3.8 percent in November from 5.8 percent in November 2020.
The Utica–Rome region’s rate fell to 4 percent from 6 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s number dipped to 4 percent from 5.5 percent; the Binghamton region posted a rate of 3.9 percent, down from 5.9 percent; the Ithaca area hit 2.9 percent unemployment, down from 4.6 percent; and the jobless rate in the Elmira region was 4 percent in November, down from 6.6 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 posted an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent in November, down from 6.9 percent in October and 8.7 percent in November 2020, according to the department’s data.
The 6.6 percent jobless rate for New York was significantly higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.2 percent in November.
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.
November jobs data
The Syracuse region gained 2.100 jobs in the past year, a rise of 0.7 percent, the smallest increase among the Central New York regions.
The Utica–Rome metro area picked up 2,700 positions, a gain of 2.3 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region added 2,100 jobs, a rise of 5.4 percent (the largest increase of the CNY regions); the Binghamton area gained 2,100 jobs, up 2.2 percent; the Ithaca region gained 1,100 jobs, an increase of 1.9 percent; and the Elmira area added 800 jobs in the past year, a gain of 2.3 percent.
New York state as a whole gained more than 308,000 jobs, an increase of 3.5 percent, in the last 12 months. The state economy also gained 23,600 jobs, a 0.3 percent rise, from October to November, the state Labor Department said.